“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”
When I was in the art school of SUNY Purchase, I had a group of friends from the visual art and philosophy departments. They lived in a house off campus called The Golden Nugget. They threw the wildest dinner parties where something had to be broken each night. Once it was a five-foot-tall glass bottle. After being in the precious, clean, narcissistic dance building all day, I relished their wild creativity and the richness of ideas.
One of the themes of this group seemed to be discussions about the Void. The Void was the emptiness. It was something we all assumed was part of life - part of the creative process of life. First, there is a Void, then you fill it with something. You may not enjoy the Void, but it was useful and necessary.
Recently I realized that it has been a long time since I have sat in the void. I don’t get that much time to myself as the mother of two small children - could that be it? But then the more I think about it, the more I realize that the internet stole the Void. If there is ever a moment in which I find an emptiness, there is endless content and activities to distract - endless ways to be ‘productive’. There is always something to do. There are always many things you can say need to be done.
Has our society lost its ability to be in dialogue with the Void? Is the void even a thing anymore? If so, what have we lost along with it? Musician Bob Frankie and poet Kahlil Gibran certainly felt like we needed it.
I usually have had depth to my work. Is this because I have had a relationship with the Void? Is this where I get my base? Is this what I help other people locate in my Creative Journey practice? Is this where I usher people on the psychedelic journey?
I understand the desire to fill the Void. I get why you might even want to destroy it. But I believe in exploring it - safely - like very careful deep sea diving. You make sure you have the tools to survive and then you go in.
Since it is no longer a given, I will make a point of making room for the Void in my and my children’s lives. I will continue to draw on this depth in my art practice and my Creative Journey practice. I won’t let you, internet, steal my Void!