The Necessity of Emptiness

Sunday on the labyrinth, I paused in the center to release my busy thoughts and rest my soul. Instead, I was annoyed by a familiar racket I’d always blamed on angry birds. Not! I learned the sound I had always associated with feathered friends is made by squirrels. This one chattered directly at me from a low-hanging branch. I laughed out loud—and, yes, chittered back. 

Releasing a familiar but unhelpful belief, pattern or identity creates a void. It can be uncomfortable, like silence begging to be filled. And...this emptiness is essential for transformation. The void isn’t a loss—it’s the sacred pause between inhale and exhale, clearing the way for what comes next.