God and Humans

(The Emptiness Within Us)

Saide

Do you believe it's honestly peace of mind that everyone is searching for? Or ... Do you believe it's answers and the truth and love to fill up the huge ever consuming void of emptiness? It wasnt peace of mind for me ! I was so stubborn that it was life or death!

John Dishwasher

These two aspects have a mirror-like relationship in how they motivate us, I think. We are drawn, on one hand, toward peace of mind. And we are pushed, on the other hand, away from emptiness. I actually agree with you that emptiness is a more powerful motivator--because it is painful. But in the essay I was trying to describe what we are drawn toward, what we need, and to point out that everyone has this in common. It's easy to lose sight of this because we get so distracted by how we are seeking peace, or how we are avoiding emptiness that we forget everyone else is doing the same thing.

My short essay on art actually addresses the emptiness indirectly, calling it instead "vulnerability," and describing its relationship to art. And my symbolic story "The Cold River Boy" is a dark little tale about a child messiah who comes with the message that to find true peace, one has to actually embrace the emptiness. W'ere on the same page, Saide. Thanks for the comment.