Reflections on Subtraction

I've always lived my life largely by the idea that you only regret the things you don't do.  In all honesty I've probably used this mantra to justify some rather risky decision making.  However recently I've been inspired by the reflections of Matthew May and his 6 Laws of Subtraction.  (Although I liked it better when they were the 7 Guiding Principles of Shibumi, but that's okay.)

On his web site Matt quotes Lao Tzu:
     To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day. 

This is a profound idea, and the 6 Laws give it great clarity.  I find the 1st Law particularly meaningful:
     What isn't there can often trump what is. 

This is supported by Lao Tzu as well in one of my favorite passages from the Tao Te Ching:

     Hollowed out,
     clay makes a pot.
     Where the pot's not,
     is where it's useful.

We tend to define ourselves by the experiences we've had, but in reality we're shaped to a far greater degree by the experience we haven't had.  So perhaps that next great adventure we may be looking for is actually having the wisdom to simply stand still.  As May tells us in the 6th Law: 

     Doing something isn’t always better than doing nothing.

Perhaps this sounds like a path to inner piece, but can it also lead to real success in life.  The Tao Te Ching continues:

     So the profit in what is

     is in the use of what isn't.