The Empty

The Void. Hollowness. You can call it whatever you like. A state of nihilism, wherein nothing seems to matter. A true sense of it is always accompanied by despair, in some form. At surface level, this state seems emotively based, but one must only ask oneself, "what do I know of emotional hindrances?" because in answering this, an experienced adept will presumably be reminded that emotions are never the problem.

It's not a question of which are good and which are bad, nor of how to overcome it. Rather, it's a question of how it's being misunderstood. Are you becoming absorbed in it, wrapped up in it, giving it attention to the exclusion of all else? Is it overwhelming?

Whether one, two, or more, emotions are usually at play, but it is not an emotively based condition. Feelings are aroused by things of an intellectual nature, and the notions feed on one's emotions. Thoughts, concepts, notions, and the feelings evoked mingle together to form a symbiotic, self-perpetuating downward spiral. Breakable – or reversible, to put it another way – but not always with ease, and probably never completely banished.

It all comes down to something pretty simple. If nothing matters, then the individual is free to decide what matters... 'cause if nothing matters on any grand scale, then anything can. In the end, I believe it's up to the person that's gone into the Void and feels the Empty. Up to him or her to search for something that seems worth attention, time, effort; worth caring about.

The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless. ~Steven Weinberg