Emptiness is a bad thing, right?
When the gas tank is empty, we go no further. When the tea cup is empty, there is nothing left to drink. When bank account is empty, we are broke.
But hang on.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
Our model of living, according to our spiritual texts, is to live a life like Jesus. A life, indeed, that was emptied. And so we come to a concept of spiritual emptiness, and ask ourselves, in what way should we become empty?
This last weekend our Desanka team split into two groups. One group went to Shakori hills, a grassroots festival, and the other spent the weekend at the NC State Fairgrounds at One Tribe Fest, a gathering of the new age persuasion.
It was the first Desanka event of 2017 for me (I missed Body Mind Spirit Expo due to sickness.) And in this new year, I bring a new self to the Desanka tent.
I was aware this weekend, as I sat in front of strangers and listened to Spirit, that no matter how many times I have done this, despite how many encouraging words I might have given in the past or dreams I might have interpreted, the only thing that actually allows me succeed in connecting to the person in front of me is emptiness.
In America, the land of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we have trained our minds to behave like a tree full of jumping monkeys. We are told and encouraged by multitudes of voices to be focused, successful, and that if we are not excelling in all areas of our life, we are failures. This mindset breeds a self-centeredness that is not easily rooted up. We are constantly distracted, for there are endless tasks that need to be checked off and matters to be taken care of.
But distraction and success do not help me when I am praying, or when I am sitting in silence guiding a stranger towards acknowledging the loving presence of a Creator. In that moment, my ego and the trappings of my false self--my concerns, my distractions, my fears and irritations--these are the enemies of connection, and of peace.
You see, Jesus, in coming to earth, emptied his mind of self-reference, of the demands of personal preference, of needing to know what to say and what to do. Thus emptied, the loving light of the Creator could shine through him unencumbered by personal agenda. And Jesus obeyed the mandate of the Creator, journeying, empty and alone, to a cross on a hill where he met death.
And so I go. I sit in a chair under a tent of purple and white drapes, lit by Christmas lights and filled with the prayers of saints. I try to get comfortable. I try to forget I have a life outside the tent. I try not to be distracted.
I let go of needing to know what to say. I let go of needing to know what’s going to happen next. That, truly, is none of my business, much to the chagrin of my false self. This focused detachment from the demands of ego--this is spiritual emptiness, the kind of emptiness that is full of presence, full of opportunity. If I can dwell in this, then I am able to connect to strangers, for finally, I have time for them.
What is more challenging is to practice that sort of emptiness on a daily basis. How would we treat our family if we stopped demanding we got our way? How would we reach out to those around us if we were able to stop looking at them through our own fears?
It is a hard business becoming empty. Emptiness insults our pride. Emptiness challenges our perception of the world, stripping away the veil to show our shallow, fearful, and stubborn we can really be.
May the Lord Jesus be kind and merciful in this journey.