In
my last
two
posts, I explored a number of experiences of something that is not a thing—call
it naught, nothing, emptiness, space, or maybe just negativity. Here are terms
for the experiences I described:
Utter
mystery
Lack
of God/Absolute
Boredom
/Aimlessness
Personal
Uncertainty/Anxiety
Personal
Possibility
Loneliness
Incompleteness
Inauthenticity/Hollowness
Listening
and Asking questions
Being
open to influence/challenge/change
Collective
uncertainty
Collective
possibility
In this last post, my task is to
divide these up, so that in the future when I want to discuss emptiness, I can be
more specific, since I have found that “space” sounds vague, and “emptiness”
often sounds much more depressing than I want.
Two Ways to Typify an “Empty Space”
1) It could be a lack of something desired.
2) It could be a necessary condition for developing identity
and connection.
1) It could be a lack of something desired.
a. A lack of knowledge = Utter mystery.
b. A lack of grounding = lack of God/Absolute, also
Boredom/Aimlessness
c. A lack of relationship = loneliness, also inauthenticity/hollowness
d. A lack of completion = personal uncertainty/anxiety,
personal possibility
2) It could be a necessary condition for developing identity
and connection.
a. Identity requires emptiness:
i.
Undetermined future – freedom, space for
potential, and for change
ii.
Undetermined perspective – space for
reflection, the ability to step out from our current beliefs and take a
critical stance, to both choose and change our courses
b. Connection requires emptiness:
i.
Listening/Questioning – making space
for the other to fill
ii.
Collective uncertainty/possibility – engaging
the social world with both our needs and desires, and also openness to the unexpected
Modes of Comportment towards Emptiness
Emptiness can also
be divided up in terms of what one might do with it. While I think my
categories are pretty solid, I expect that different people would populate them
in their own way.
1) Sit “in” it.
2) Leave it empty.
3) Fill it.
4) Fill it, with the expectation of a new emptiness ahead.
5) Create it.
1) Sit “in” it.
Before trying to
act in relation to emptiness, it’s valuable first simply to feel it. I like to
talk paradoxically about sensing the “shape” and “heaviness” of emptiness. By
shape, I mean: Is it just a part of me? Does it encompass all of me? Do I find
that it encompasses my relationships, my culture, or even encompasses the whole
realm of human activity? How big does it feel? By heaviness, I guess I mean:
How bothered am I by this emptiness? Do I find it oppressive, or perhaps
liberating? What are my instinctual feelings or reflexive actions when I feel
it?
Once I have dwelt a
little in this emptiness, I might be better able to decide what to do with it…
2) Leave it empty.
A lack
does not immediately mean that the space needs to be filled. In my
understanding of secular spirituality, there is strength and growth in simply letting
mystery and lack of God be. Sometimes when I’m lonely, I don’t need other people,
but rather I need aim more intentionally at solitude.
3) Fill it.
If I think I am languishing
from this lack, then maybe it’s a sign that I shouldn’t be empty in this
regard. For me, sometimes these are nothings like loneliness and
inauthenticity/ hollowness.
4) Fill it, with the expectation of a new emptiness ahead.
Aimlessness doesn’t
feel good, but it also tends to emerge right after I accomplish a goal. So,
when I’m feeling bored or aimless, it’s good to find a new goal, but I shouldn’t
be too surprised or upset when I find myself in another empty space afterwards.
This generally holds for personal uncertainty/anxiety, possibility, and that
whole sense of incompleteness. I can pursue greater stability and I can develop
my potential, but my future will continue to remain open. I can and should aim
to fill my life with great things, while expecting it to remain incomplete.
5) Create it.
This mode is
different than the others, as it is not a response to emptiness, but rather a
response to a lack of emptiness (ß Figure that
one out!)—meaning, if things don’t seem right, sometimes the best question is:
Do I need to make a space here? This would apply any time I experience an
internal block, or a block between myself and other people. Actions like dwelling
in silence, listening, asking questions, and remaining open to collective uncertainty
and possibility would fit as ways of satisfying this need.
