The Blessing/Curse of an Empty Life
Like most things, an empty life is a two-sided coin. For someone who is extremely busy, to the point of being significantly distressed, or even totally burned out, an empty life might look like a beautiful island in the sea. This island appears to be a peaceful place to relax and unwind. To one with an empty life, there may be a time where they sought this out for precisely that, the peace, the solitude, the chance to restore themselves. The chance to relight the flame of their life, that was guttering and nearly blown out.
The empty life is also a trap. It is not easy to leave the island, to return to the land where everything else is.
On the other side of the coin, the empty life becomes a curse. Resources run low, the days stretch on and on, empty. The island in the sea which once looked like salvation, has suddenly become a prison. Soon, the busyness of a normal life doesn’t seem so bad, compared to having nothing to do and no resources. The peace of solitude fades into loneliness. The freedom of not being forced to do anything, fades into the boredom and meaninglessness of having nothing that needs doing. The low stress feeling of being released from responsibility, becomes a high stress situation due to the need to survive.
Often, when great change occurs in life, very rapidly, the old must be torn down, before the new can be built. This stripping away of what no longer serves is often extremely painful. Soon, we may stand at the precipice, with nothing to do, and no one around, wondering what will become of our life. It is always darkest before the dawn, so to speak.
The dawn is the true blessing of the empty life. Not the transient enjoyment of the early days. The true blessing is when the blank slate begins to fill in again. This time, the life that forms is better suited to who we are. This new life is more balanced, less depleting, leaving more room for enjoyment, for being. This new dawn still has space in it, while also meeting the basic needs the empty life did not. The one who lives this new life, is not the one who went to the island. This person has been forged anew, as different from before as the new life is from the old.
Wherever one may find themselves, dear reader, be aware of the coin. Whenever one looks at the circumstances of another, remember the coin. Remember also, that the power to flip your coin over, is always yours.
