Empty.
To be empty seems simple irony. Ironic because this world is oh-so-full.
Our calendars, our agendas, our plans, our homes. So. Much. Stuff. Our cities, our town, our highways, our public transportation. Full, full, full. Menus, plates, bowls, glasses. Full, and when they’re not full, someone is waiting to make them so again. Bookshelves. E-mail boxes. Magazine racks. Stuffed, full, packed. Closets, even. Full, full, full.
But for all this fullness, there exists profound emptiness.
So many of us are empty, empty, empty. Leading empty lives or chasing empty careers or making and breaking empty promises. Empty hearts, maybe, or empty souls.
And in looking to get filled, we just fill all the other things.
How many more days of empty? How many more minutes until full? How many more hours of empty? How much longer can we wait to get filled? Or maybe it’s the other way around — how long have we been waiting to get filled?
And so we seek. We settle on that new best thing, that new awesome thing. We hope to find the puzzle pieces and then put them together and maybe we won’t be empty. We tirelessly quest, we endlessly search, we desperately journey.
Maybe the secret to being less empty is simply to be less full.
—
Pleased once again to link up with The Gypsy Mama for her Five Minute Friday. Today’s prompt was empty.
inspiration-driven life 
I really related to what you’ve written, you captured it beautifully. I’ve felt the weight of being too full that I missed how good empty can be. It’s never too late to learn. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! ~ Tia
Tia, thank you so much! Absolutely never too late to learn! 🙂
“Maybe the secret to being less empty is simply to be less full.”
Yes, I believe that IS the secret. And you’ve penned it so eloquently here. I love this!
denise, i always love it when you stop by. thanks so much, friend.
Thanks for visiting me at A Better Way. I know what you mean about empty. When I first realized I needed God it was because I was empty. I felt exactly what you said, “empty hearts, empty souls”. If I hadn’t been empty I wouldn’t have needed a Saviour. So emptiness is a necessity before we look for God. I love the song that starts, “Empty I come to you,” It is called Hungry (Falling on my Knees). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Js5OnLeunQ
Oh, Jan, love that song! Thanks so much for sharing. Beautiful.
“And in looking to get filled, we just fill all the other things.” So true. So true. A little less would certainly help us fill up our “empty tanks.”
for sure, Nancy. Thanks so much for visiting today.
love it…being less empty means to just be less full! Now if only I could turn my computer off!!! Thanks for joining us and sharing
brandy YES, if only we could power down the computer and the phones and the tvs and the i-everythings. i must work on that myself.
“Maybe the secret to being less empty is simply to be less full.”
I suspect you’re right. I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately, and your words spoke straight to my heart today, Sarah! 🙂
Katie, glad this struck a chord with you! You are just wonderful and your encouragement always makes me smile, friend! 🙂
I want to hang these words in my house, for when the phone rings with another opportunity, when I fret between answering emails or reading with my kids, when I make myself busy instead of quieting my heart. These words are life to me today. Thank you.
Oh Annie, thank you! Feel free to print them out if you’d like, friend! Glad this helped. So grateful that you stopped by — and glad we are Twitter friends now too 🙂
Thanks for the kind words over at my blog. It was very encouraging:) Your words are very thought provoking… I loved your opening lines. Yes, “to be empty seems simple irony. Ironic because this world is oh so full.” With all this world has to offer, it is ironic! I’ve heard it said that maybe it’s because we’re not made for this world.
Jacqui, I echo that. I think it was CS Lewis who said it — “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” So convicting, yes?
That last sentence is so profound Sarah. Beautiful.