How is it to be full of emptiness? A mondo from me
My word today was 'empty' and, ironically, I filled my face with a smile after it arrived. I have spent some days since retreat 1 worrying about feeling empty, particularly after feeling so full on the retreat itself. And it reminded me of something people have said to me....
"Let it be empty for a while" - Thanks to Karen for that gem, and "there is nothing to do here, but be here, now" - thanks to me for that one. So I sat with emptiness, rather than rush to fill it up or panicking about trying to get back to fullness. SO here are some notes from my journal that relate to this, and frankly, you can replace emptiness with just about any word you care to think of (though probably not sausages)...
If I'm picking blackberries and get caught on the thorns, it hurts, and my normal reaction is to pull my arm away as quickly as possible. But, pull against a thorn and all I do is catch myself on it even more - causing more pain. If I stop, then put my arm back in a little way, I will unhook myself and will be able to remove my arm from the thorns safely.
Emptiness is the same. It makes no more sense to try and lead a full life, without experiencing emptiness, than it does to try to breathe fully in, without first breathing out. It's part of the deal...it is something to be experienced fully and with as much wonder and joy as joy itself, passion, sadness, fear, anger and flying.
As I sit with emptiness I realise it is a sign of completion, of having finished with something, and that it allows me to be filled again. Emptiness allows me to resonate clearly. Emptiness is SPACE, and if I am feeling empty I am merely feeling the space that I am in. Things move towards emptiness as much as things gravitate towards fullness. Space and emptiness allow other things and people to be in their experience fully, without cramping them. If I run from emptiness, if I always cling to and yearn for fullness, I am missing precious moments of my life and putting myself more strongly on the hook. If I run from emptiness, I can never really complete, deepen or be filled again.
This, is how the lake we swans swim on came to be made.
Hmmm.
With love
Me
X
"Let it be empty for a while" - Thanks to Karen for that gem, and "there is nothing to do here, but be here, now" - thanks to me for that one. So I sat with emptiness, rather than rush to fill it up or panicking about trying to get back to fullness. SO here are some notes from my journal that relate to this, and frankly, you can replace emptiness with just about any word you care to think of (though probably not sausages)...
If I'm picking blackberries and get caught on the thorns, it hurts, and my normal reaction is to pull my arm away as quickly as possible. But, pull against a thorn and all I do is catch myself on it even more - causing more pain. If I stop, then put my arm back in a little way, I will unhook myself and will be able to remove my arm from the thorns safely.
Emptiness is the same. It makes no more sense to try and lead a full life, without experiencing emptiness, than it does to try to breathe fully in, without first breathing out. It's part of the deal...it is something to be experienced fully and with as much wonder and joy as joy itself, passion, sadness, fear, anger and flying.
As I sit with emptiness I realise it is a sign of completion, of having finished with something, and that it allows me to be filled again. Emptiness allows me to resonate clearly. Emptiness is SPACE, and if I am feeling empty I am merely feeling the space that I am in. Things move towards emptiness as much as things gravitate towards fullness. Space and emptiness allow other things and people to be in their experience fully, without cramping them. If I run from emptiness, if I always cling to and yearn for fullness, I am missing precious moments of my life and putting myself more strongly on the hook. If I run from emptiness, I can never really complete, deepen or be filled again.
This, is how the lake we swans swim on came to be made.
Hmmm.
With love
Me
X
posted by Ho, Baby, Ho! at
4:15 AM
1 Comments:
Great to have you out here... You can count on me visiting your space every day ;-)
By
Pippi Langkous, at Monday, November 14, 2005
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