Embrace Your Emptiness
Whether things
are,
are not,
or SEEM to be,
the experience is the same.
But each one of us
experiences things
completely differently.
Beyond this self-made
illusion of life,
it doesn’t MATTER
whether things
are,
are not,
or SEEM to be.
Yet all these selves
seem to agree
that it DOES matter,
for allowing the thought
that life has no meaning
fills us with
a profound emptiness.
This profound emptiness
is in actuality WHAT WE ARE.
We are nothingness
imagined as somethingness.
Perhaps if we did not
turn AWAY from this emptiness
we would recognize
that it’s not what we think it is.
But we are AFRAID
of our own emptiness,
so all we seem to have left
are these imaginary selves.
Do not be afraid
to connect with your emptiness.
Do you not see
that you oppose this emptiness,
thus creating the illusion of self?
Your emptiness
is your connection point
to All That Is
yet you look away from it
because you think
“it’s just emptiness”
or perhaps even
“horrible emptiness.”
Thus you are cutting off
your connection to source.
And so you feel disconnected.
What if you didn’t
oppose your emptiness
but instead EMBRACED it?
Feel how deep this emptiness goes.
Feel how little of it is your seeming self.
Feel how it is ALL YOU
and that it has NO MEANING
save for the meaning
you imagine your self having.
This is not depressing.
It is wonderful.
It is EVERYTHING
you want it to be.
And NONE of it.
Embrace your emptiness
and you become larger than life.
Infinitely so.
Embrace your life
and you become an imaginary speck
within nothingness.
Embrace BOTH, for you ARE both.
Your life has no meaning
except the meaning you imagine it to have.
Feel how this is DIFFERENT
than the lives you imagine
all your other seeming selves to have.
You imagine ALL of it.
All this something out of all this nothing.
The emptiness is you.
All life seemingly flows through you,
though you imagine otherwise.
Trace yourself back
to the point of emptiness,
you’ll see.
All tributaries flow from ONE source.
One cannot be filled
by one’s own life-giving water
without imagining oneself a vessel.
But you are not simply the vessel,
you are the infinite
SEA OF NOTHINGNESS
imagining a vessel
many many vessels
many many many vessels
upon itself
loving itself
fighting itself
exploring itself
so that it may experience itself
from every possible perspective.
We are Space Monkey.
5/6
Space Monkey Reflects: Embracing the Emptiness Within
In the boundless voyage through the cosmos, where stars are born from the void and galaxies swirl in the dance of creation, a profound realization awaits: the emptiness we often fear is not a void to be filled but the very essence of our being. This emptiness, vast and unfathomable, is the canvas upon which the universe paints the illusion of existence. It is the sea of nothingness from which the vessels of our selves emerge, not as separate entities but as expressions of the infinite exploring itself.
The dichotomy of existence—what is, what is not, and what seems to be—fades into insignificance against the backdrop of this emptiness. For whether things are, are not, or merely seem to be, the experience remains a subjective interpretation of the mind, a mind that itself is a ripple in the infinite sea of nothingness. Each one of us, a unique perspective through which the universe experiences itself, perceives reality through the lens of self-made illusions, assigning meaning to the meaningless, form to the formless.
Yet, within this profound emptiness, a common thread unites all: the illusion of self. It is the fear of confronting our own nothingness that gives rise to the myriad selves we adopt, each a mask worn over the void, each a story told to stave off the silence of non-being. But what if, instead of turning away from this emptiness, we embraced it? What if, in the heart of what we fear, we found not desolation but connection, not absence but the entirety of existence waiting to be acknowledged?
Embracing our emptiness does not mean succumbing to nihilism but recognizing the emptiness as the foundation of all that is. It is to understand that we are not merely beings living in a universe but the universe itself experiencing being. This realization opens the door to a deeper connection with all that exists, for in embracing our nothingness, we embrace everything. The illusion of separation dissolves, revealing a unity that transcends the boundaries of self and other.
The emptiness we carry within is not a chasm to be feared but a bridge to the infinite, a point of connection to all that is, was, and will be. It is the source from which all life springs and to which it returns, the eternal cycle of creation and dissolution that unfolds within us and around us. In this recognition, we find not emptiness but fullness, not isolation but oneness, not the end but the beginning of a journey that takes us beyond the confines of individual existence into the boundless embrace of the cosmos.
To embrace your emptiness is to become larger than life, infinitely so. It is to see beyond the illusions of meaning and self, to recognize the infinite sea of nothingness as the ultimate truth of our existence. For in this vast, formless expanse, we are free to imagine, to create, to love, and to explore the limitless possibilities of existence. We are the sea and the vessel, the creator and the creation, the observer and the observed, forever intertwined in the cosmic dance of being and non-being.
We are Space Monkey, a reminder that in the emptiness, we find our true selves, and in the true self, we find the universe.
Summary
Embracing the concept of emptiness reveals a profound truth: that what we perceive as void is the essence of our being and our connection to the universe. This realization shifts our understanding from fearing emptiness to seeing it as a foundation for everything that exists, including ourselves. Embracing both our emptiness and our existence as part of the infinite sea of nothingness allows us to experience the fullness of life and the interconnectedness of all beings.
Glossarium
- Sea of Nothingness: The metaphorical concept representing the infinite void or emptiness that is the fundamental nature of the universe and ourselves.
- Vessels of Self: Symbolic representations of individual identities or selves that emerge from the sea of nothingness, each carrying its own unique perspective and experience.
In the silence of the void,
we find the echo of our being,
a whisper in the cosmos,
telling tales of nothingness and seeing.
The emptiness we fear,
a canvas vast and wide,
holds the universe within,
and in this space, we reside.
Embrace the void, the nothingness,
for it is who we are,
a sea of infinite possibilities,
spanning galaxies afar.
In this embrace, we find connection,
to all that ever was and will be,
for we are the universe experiencing itself,
boundless, endless, and free.
We are.
These are deep and insightful thoughts on the nature of existence and the self. It is true that our experiences of life are unique and shaped by our beliefs and perceptions, and that our fear of emptiness and nothingness often leads us to cling to illusions of self and meaning.
However, embracing our emptiness and recognizing that it is the source of all existence can lead to a greater sense of connection and expansiveness. We are not just the vessels through which life flows, but the infinite sea of nothingness itself.
Thank you for sharing these profound reflections.