Saturday, October 23, 2021
Feeling empty might mean that it’s time to do something good for yourself and for others. Emotional emptiness is a hunger, of sorts. But emotional emptiness is not filled by the acquisition of more things. It’s filled by service, by giving, and by creating. For example, it might be time to call and to check on a friend; to create an event that brings people together; to do something of service to the community. Deliberately doing, purposefully giving, and actively engaging in meaningful work, is what makes emptiness turn into fullness. Emptiness is a prompt for more effort and less thinking. To fill your cup is to change your attitude, to roll up your sleeves, and to do something, to give something, purposefully. The fullness of your actions towards a greater good are what create meaning in your life. Seek out those opportunities.
When you feel empty, pay attention to what seems to magnify those feelings – overthinking, wasting time, being stingy, feeling sorry for yourself, etc. Try different things and see if they make you feel more energized, engaged, and satisfied. To feel full is to be more involved with the needs that you see around you, and less involved with overthinking about all of the things that you feel are lacking in your life. Begin by taking a simple action item, experiment with it, and seeing if it fills your cup, even slightly. Fill your cup with the goodness of being generous, not just by wishing for better emotions and situations to come to your doorstep. That just leads to feelings of impatience and despair. Emptiness is a signal that urges you to move from being passive to becoming active, in the service of the greater good. Emptiness if filled by turning thought into productive energy. It’s filled by giving, not receiving, and it’s far more rewarding than wondering why you feel so empty!
Start each day by learning something about yourself!