Recently I came across a new term called “Ma”, which means “emptiness” in Japanese. This concept is often used in Studio Ghibli films, which have been my inspiration of the past couple of weeks. Hence why I decided to talk about Ma.

Ma is basically an empty scene in a film, something that can be a lot seen in Studio Ghibli movies. It’s those scenes, where nothing really goes on for a few minutes. You just watch the main character sitting in the grass and watching the sky, or follow the journey of the train, or enjoy fascinating sceneries of nature. It gives you a chance to take a break from all the action that constantly takes place and kind of “be present”.

I always adored the “ma scenes” in these films, even though I didn’t know there’s a special term for it. It always made me feel so calm, relaxed and cozy. I felt like I saw those scenes not on screen, but in real life. And after finding out about this captivating concept I realized, that that’s what I value the most in life – the feeling of emptiness and simplicity. Emptiness doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s so amazing, when you have nothing going on in your mind – no thoughts, plans and worries. You just become aware of everything that surrounds you and start actually noticing the beauty of life.

Whenever I watched Ghibli movies, I envied the surreal and colorful world the characters lived in. And one day somehow I truly felt myself in that world with all the beauty around. No, the world didn’t change out of the blue, but my vision did. I saw the same things – the blossomed trees, half ruined houses, the green glass, the mountains far away, the clouds and sunshine. I always noticed and appreciated those things, but now I kind of saw them in a different, more fascinating way.

And it made me wonder. We all live in that same world, which has immense beauty even in its ugliness and imperfections. Yet we never notice it because we’re overwhelmed with thoughts, emotions and events in our lives. That’s why we all need some “ma”, that will make us stop, take a breath and actually be present, noticing the charm of simplicity and our lives. The light breeze, children’s laughter, bird chirping, the game of light and shadows, the stray animals, even the people passing by, living in their own worlds.

I don’t know if all this makes sense or not. But I’ve been feeling really inspired for the last couple of days and decided to share this mood. And since my post and inspiration were highly affected by the Ghibli films, I decided to share a few collages with their atmospheric aesthetics.