Nothing Is Something

I was in Arches National Park, Utah last weekend for a hiking getaway.

The scenery was spectacular. The arches seemed to go on forever.  Each one unique. Magnificent.  I had a strong sense that we are a mere speck on this earth ball.  I felt a power, a force of nature, that is beyond intellectual comprehension, imagination, and my control. A presence and spirit of the divine.

It looks to me like a big part of what makes each arch so special and unique is its archness. The shape, size, beauty and splendor of its nothing space.

Pondering the nothing space…..

Nothing is the space from which creativity blooms.

When I show up to write, it is often with just a hint of an idea. Eventually, from nothing, the words bubble up and a story unfolds.

Nothing is the space from which inner wisdom shines through.

I’ve noticed when I have less on my mind, there is more room for wisdom to show up. I might have an insight, an “aha” which hatches from an empty egg. With less trying or mental busyness and a little more spaciousness, I can often hear, see, and feel my answers. Counter intuitive perhaps, yet beautifully simple.

I see how when I’m coaching, it’s sometimes during those longer pauses, chunks of silence within the conversation, that something big bubbles forth for and from my client.

Nothing is the space that can look scary.

I notice sometimes I feel the need to fill my day. To fill in all the spaces with something solid. In a moment of downtime or quiet, I might turn to electronics. My thoughts tell me it is not okay to bask in nothing lest I be unproductive. Yet deep down I see that nothing might just be the soil from which productivity grows and blooms.

Nothing is the space of deep connection.

When I am spending time with my husband or daughters we don’t need to talk all the time. In the space of nothing or silence, there is deep feeling, connection, love. I experience something similar with my son who can’t speak. It’s not necessary to fill his space with my talk, it’s ok to silently and simply be.

Creativity, wisdom, productivity, and connection emerge from nothing. As I gazed up at the spectacular arches, each nothing space shaped by a curved red rock, I saw that nothing is something.