Thursday, December 10, 2009

On emptiness

Feeling empty is weird. In the west psychologist use the feeling of emptiness as a part of a diagnosis for depression. In the east many philosophies make it their purpose to get to that same feeling of emptiness. One is bad for you, the other is good for you. But they're the same thing.

The good thing about emptiness is that it's the perfect starting point for self discovery. When you feel empty, sit back and relax and wait for that next thought that will, at least for a while, make you not empty. What happened? How come this thought could kidnap your existence and fill up the emptiness? And how come it didn't last and at some point you came back to feeling empty?

Our minds are what we make them. Problem is, most people take their mind for granted, and a lot of those people suffer for it. And when that humbling feeling of emptiness strikes, it may seem that your entire existence is empty.

Not so. What is empty is your mind. That can be either a good thing or a bad thing. If you define your self by the mind and define success as having something on your mind, then emptiness is a bad thing. On the other hand, if you look at life as a marathon, then you can use your mind for the running. But once in a while its just great to take a break, stop and drink some water and rest the muscles before your continue. Emptiness is like that: It's a break from the marathon. The only reason you're not enjoying it is that you identify with the marathon, and not with your existence.

No comments:

Post a Comment