We are all adrift in the void. It is an unchanging, iron-clad reality.
So, it makes sense to try to be kind to each other.
Even with the best intentions and planning, it can all fall apart. This is the nature of things. It is as though the void has a mind of its own. To think that it is all random is the oldest mind trick. It is to fool us into thinking that we can make something out of all the randomness. Maybe even to tame it or make sense of it somehow. But what if it isn’t like that at all? What if the void isn’t random? I am not suggesting any god or evil genius manipulating our existence. Rather, simply, it isn’t random. It has a purpose, which is to grind us to dust.
It is our inescapable fate. We all can see it for ourselves in the death of a parent or a close friend. In the end, all of what we try to cobble together in this life gets ground to ashes, together with our bones and flesh.
So, why kill each other when the void is doing that for us? Be kind, if at all possible.
You have shored up your mental life. You have reasoned your way from the cradle to the grave. You have arranged the minutiae of your life so you too can present yourself as an upstanding citizen. Maybe you have gotten some accreditation. Maybe you have salted away some reserve. Maybe you have gathered close friends and relatives. And then this little something happens.
It could be a spam call in the middle of the day. A blast of wind that collapses your patio furniture. A tiny sliver in your flesh. A few meaningless words said at the wrong time. It was as though a lynchpin had been pulled from a structure that you had meticulously constructed.
First, a piece came down, and then it all did until nothing was left.
All that you have cultivated lays there before you like a shattered dream.
Damn it all, you say.
Let it all go to hell.
But that’s not you. It isn’t your or anyone’s fault. You can’t even track it to some mental weakness or imbalance.
It’s the void. Plain and simple.
Nothing can resist the wheel of time and fate, which renders all your schemes foolhardy and absurd and grinds you slowly to dust.
Stay kindly.
Continue to behave like you still have it together, like it still makes partial sense. Right the ship again, for now, even if you know deep down you are headed straight for oblivion.
You go to supper like usual and are properly dressed.
You remember to bring your umbrella with you when it rains.
You smile when you talk to young children.
Say good morning to your spouse, not forgetting the brief hug.
You recall what your plans are for the day. It may be to deliver this or that package or to conclude some unfinished project. It doesn’t matter.
You also do not forget what you previously concluded about life, death, and illusion, but most of all about the ineffable (or god, Tao, the faith you can fall back on). That's the anti-void, is it not?
Yes, you need the anti-void right about now.
You wonder: Can we get a bit closer to it?
The ineffable, though indescribable, can, however, be felt.
I felt it when my mind and heart suddenly expanded as I found myself lost in a forest, and I didn’t care.
We may be standing at the edge of a cliff or gazing at a great plain when a rush of boundlessness overwhelms us. We have our arms down on, our faces expressionless, as though we are not only open to what is all around us but also to the entire universe. And if we were to die at that very moment, it would be alright.
The ineffable is, on the surface, the opposite of the void.
But is it actually?
Are the void and the ineffable, in fact, two sides of the same coin?
Our frame of mind decides which side of the coin we are seeing.
When frustration or absurdity trips you, can you walk on with a straight back and a measure of dignity?
By walking like normal, you may realize that you are fine. It’s not like you are facing any novel situation--being frustrated and at wit’s end. You are just back at being lost in the forest. Take a deep breath. Look for that boundless feeling again. And, again, you have your arms down on either side of you, as though you are not only open to what is all around you but also to the entire universe, and in such a way that if you were to die at that very moment, it would be alright. There would be no regret.
Be kind if at all possible.
You are in the void. You are also in the ineffable.
You are already lost. You have never been lost.
You are already dead. You were never born.
The void = the ineffable.
Can you be equally open to the divine in the ineffable as well as to the absurdity in the void?
Both are too great for words.
The void, let’s realize, isn’t all real without the ineffable. And the ineffable isn’t all real without the void.
How can we feel transcendence without life’s absurd push?
When faced with widespread madness, stay still or go for a run. We can’t do any better than that.
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