beholders.org

The search for nothing in particular is one of the most difficult searches of the human condition. It is one that requires discipline, perseverance and focus, and most of all, the humble willingness to delve into our most secret flaws and most hidden desires. 

Why do it then? Why would you spend your life looking for the vague idea of emptiness? How does our ego deal with the idea of letting go of selfishness? Of working for the well being of all? Of truly living as one small part of a large and all encompassing whole?

The answer is surprisingly obvious.  We search because we are lost. We have come to the point where you figure out that all the paths you have been following lead nowhere and that walking around in circles is an exercise in futility. For many, the result is desperation, hopeless and a lack of direction. That sense of loss is usually covered by a desire to fulfill those needs with objects, and sometimes, the deeper the whole, the more expensive and loaded with pointless meaning they are; Expensive cars, brand shoes, designer clothes, the newest gadget.  

Some search for answers by copying the ideas and concepts of others, and trying desperately to make them their own. 

For some, the gap is filled by drug usage, alcohol abuse, dysfunctional relationships. Some find the road so overwhelming that they try to hurt themselves, and unfortunately some do succeed. 

What they have yet to understand is that the signs that were put there for us by the media, magazines, tv and even by our friends and family, often lead to a dead end. 

So then, in this lonely and dark fork on the road, what is the solution? Again, the answer is surprisingly simple.  What we need to do to find our way, is simply to stop looking for it outwardly, and to understand that we all know the directions already, but that we aren't ever quiet enough to listen to them. 

That is why emptiness is so necessary. Because it's only in a place of inner quiet that we can hear ourselves. It's only when the voices in our heads are temporarily silenced that the messages become crystal clear. It doesn't matter what path you take. You are already there.

 

By Taty Sena