Thoughts on void or feeling empty in life

 Today I noticed something very significant while talking to a friend. We both were talking over the phone about the void in our life. We were talking about longing for a specific relationship - companionship. He was sad that to share happiness and sorrow, he doesn't have a significant other. He longs for love and compassion that a partner brings along. I feel his pain for I am going through the same situation too. I didn't want to feel sad because I have a lot on my plate that depresses me.

Metaphoric image to represent the feeling discussed in the blog. 

On the other hand, I cannot ask my friend to stop to feel that way because feelings are genuine; I think they manifest actions and expressions more strongly. I don't know what got into me, the next moment I heard myself pacifying him. I told him "think like this, void or emptiness is perhaps an opportunity to create a space for someone to be with us. And for someone to be an integral part of life, we need to understand how it feels to be unloved, unwanted, and need to experience the pain that emptiness brings along with it. Maybe every level of emptiness is like a checklist ready to be ticked. Once they are done, we have space where we allow the significant other to arrive so that both can build something beautiful together. Afterall the foundation is laid on the experiences and feeling you ticked off while filling the void. You know how to channelise those insecurities and weakness to an electric ball of strength to support and light up the lives of each other. Likeness, in some way or the other, attracts likeness. A person experiencing tremendous pain empathises and will be there to lend a shoulder to lean on, a hand to hold, and an embrace to secure."

After I finished sharing this gyaan, it hit me that he was listening to me intently and the pregnant pause was in between us. "Wow that was deep" I quipped, and we both laughed.

With this conversation, I understood how liberating it is to slow down. The 21-days lockdown being cooped up indoors might make us fidgety. On a positive note, this is an opportunity to reflect on how to push negative feelings towards a path where one can gain strength and perform actions for a better life; filled with gratitude. I am happy I can think this way while having negative emotions at abundance at my disposal.