{"id":11244,"date":"2024-07-09T10:03:26","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T16:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/?p=11244"},"modified":"2024-07-09T10:03:26","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T16:03:26","slug":"the-power-of-emptiness-why-less-can-be-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/2024\/07\/the-power-of-emptiness-why-less-can-be-more\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Emptiness: Why Less Can Be More"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>

Emptiness clears the way to experience the new. Photo by Birger Stahl via Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

If I were to ask you \u201cwould you rather feel empty or full?\u201d what would you say? I know my first instinct would be to respond full. That may be because we\u2019re a society that seems to yearn for fullness. We like our bellies to be full, our calendars to be full of activities, our homes and garages full of stuff.<\/p>\n

In The Eloquence of Silence<\/em>: Surprising Wisdom in Tales of Emptiness<\/em>, Thomas Moore<\/a> makes the case that there\u2019s a problem with all this fullness. It leaves no room for emptiness, which is more than the absence of stuff.\u00a0It\u2019s a place of discovery where we can find new possibilities and perspectives and come to a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou probably need to empty out as much as you fill up<\/strong>.\u201d<\/h3>\n Moore is best known for his many books on the soul<\/a>, but in The Eloquence of Silence<\/em>, he rarely mentions \u201cthe soul\u201d by name. He doesn\u2019t have to. His teachings on emptiness (or any subject he tackles) reach beyond the head and heart to somewhere deep within us, shining a light on the deep, dark essence at the core of our being.<\/p>\n In The Eloquence of Silence<\/em>, Moore\u2019s short chapters on emptiness read like written meditations<\/a>, in that his words put you in a different state of mind. The world around you may temporarily slip away as your focus turns inward. He then acts as a tour guide, lighting the way along a darkened path until you reach a clearing, a vast emptiness that is not to be feared but to be embraced.<\/p>\n Emptiness clears the way for something new.<\/strong><\/h3>\n***** ** *****Moore believes our modern lives are too jam-packed. Too full of information and activities and material possessions. He opines that \u201cperhaps we produce too many things and use too many words and even think too many thoughts.\u201d And that poses a problem. Because when are lives are filled to the brim, we have no room for growth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Moore advises us to \u201cresist pressures to frantically fill every minute with activities or explanations or purpose.\u201d When we begin to honor the emptiness inside us, we\u2019re like the farmer clearing a field for new crops. We\u2019re making room for growth<\/a> and become \u201copen and awake\u201d to life. Moore asks us to consider:<\/p>\n "\n***** ** How many aspects of our lives have run their course, yet we keep at them anyway? Some things are not significant like an old, frayed shirt in the closet or a pair of shoes with holes in them. Other things are significant: a rusting career or relationship. We keep them and don\u2019t realize how they stop up the flow of life in general.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n ** *****Moore urges us to \u201clearn to appreciate emptiness and make it part of your daily experience. It can give you peace and comfort, especially when your life is full and active. It balances out any tendency to do too much or even to think and feel excessively.\u201d It gives our souls room to breathe.<\/p>\n Is it time to reevaluate the things filling up your life?<\/strong><\/h3>\n Moore instructs us to let go of things that are \u201cno longer worth the effort\u201d and that may not add the value and meaning<\/a> to our lives that they once did. Consider your own life and you may come to realize:<\/p>\n "\n******* ** The house you have been living in may no longer be appropriate and meaningful. The way you have been eating may not be healthy at this new time in your life. The way you spend your holidays and leisure time may be showing its limitations. You may have ideas and opinions that are getting old and frayed. It may be time to release them.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n ** *******We also need to ease up on our constant search for new experiences. Quite often our lives are already filled with people and things that can awe and inspire us. We just need to step back and look at all the good that\u2019s around us with fresh eyes. This involves seeing them as if for the first time, using our \u201cbeginner\u2019s mind.\u201d Moore advises us to:<\/p>\n \nTry to forget what you think you know<\/li>\nSimply be in the presence of whatever it is you are concerned with<\/li>\nAim for \u201ctotal comprehension\u201d and not just acquaintance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nLess can be more.<\/strong><\/h3>\n********* ** *********How can you achieve a state of emptiness in your own life? As a start, Moore tells us that \u201cemptiness might mean clearing your desk and cleaning your house, getting rid of clutter and developing a clean sense of beauty.\u201d It may also mean eliminating any unnecessary activities or goals from your life or moving on from anyone filling your head with misguided opinions or negative ideas.<\/p>\n The result may be, in Moore\u2019s words, that \u201cwhen people meet you, they see the emptiness in your relaxed manner and in your absence of anxiety. You may look healthier and more approachable. You have empty spaces<\/a> in you where people can enter. They won\u2019t feel as though they are disturbing you or interrupting your perpetual anxiety.\u201d Moore continues:<\/p>\n "\n********* ** If you have empty oases in you, places for refreshment and pause, you can more likely enjoy a happy life. If you see a stunning mountain or lake as you travel, you can stop and take time to do nothing and look. If you see a child in need of attention, you can let go of what you are doing and be of assistance. If you need to just sit in a chair, you won\u2019t be tempted by a habit of hyperactivity to avoid the welcome rest.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n ** *********Additionally, when new people enter your life, you can warmly receive them, giving them the attention they deserve. When a new idea appears in your head, you\u2019ll have the room to entertain it. When a new opportunity arrives, you can better examine it and, if merited, pursue it. As Moore suggests, \u201cbe empty so life can happen<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n A different version of this story appeared about a year ago. Neither is included in my book Wake Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If I were to ask you \u201cwould you rather feel empty or full?\u201d what would you say? I know my first instinct would be to respond full. That may be because we\u2019re a society that seems to yearn for fullness. We like our bellies to be full, our calendars to be full of activities, our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1184,"featured_media":11247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[758,50,36],"tags":[2144,476],"class_list":["post-11244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solitude","category-soul","category-thomas-moore","tag-emptiness","tag-fulfillment"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Power of Emptiness: Why Less Can Be More<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is your life full of activities and "stuff"? 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