E is for Emptiness, F is for Fullness

Facing the blank canvas, the big nothing can be terrifying. In a culture that prizes mastery over the Mystery, experiencing emptiness can make us truly uncomfortable. Other cultures make room for emptiness. Think about zen gardens, where the 'negative' space hums in relation to the rocks and trees. Consider the Navajo people who view their land, not as mesas lost in vast areas of nothing, but large potent areas delineated by land formations. The interval or what's in between is full of possibility.

In our lives when it seems like nothing is happening, the Mystery is moving. It might not be apparent, like a stream that goes underground for a span, then emerges where we're not looking. How do we hang out with the Emptiness?

Can we be thankful for the letting go, the making room for what comes next?

Fullness is a fearful tendency in our culture. We fill our homes with stuff, we fill our bodies with stuff, we fill our days with activity. When there's no discernment about what is enough, we over-consume and take on too much. People who want a relationship are sometimes so busy avoiding being lonely that they forget to make room for another person to enter.

There is another sense of fullness, the image of a cup spilling over. To be filled with so much joy that it has to be shared, or so much sorrow that it naturally moves out with tears. Our body-minds know how to self-regulate if we pay attention.

Where are you on the spectrum of emptiness to fullness?