Nothing Matters
We do not talk about nothing. Because we know nothing about it. As it is impossible to define nothing. Nothing only defines nothing. If defined it is always a negation: not anything, no single thing, not at all.
It's strange that you are reading something about nothing. A thing which you never do. You never sit and do nothing. You do something or the other. You always have a conversation with something to talk about. You always read something about something. And you never think nothing.
So, something which you never do; does nothing really matters?
Socrates used to say:
"I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing."
So. what did he know exactly? How did he know? And how did knowing it made him wise? All we know is that the most simple questions are the hardest ones to answer.
Absurdly nothing matters more than something.
Before we can talk of nothing. Let's talk about what you are familiar with: Something.
And, what is something? Let's start with you.
You are made up of matter. Matter which are made up of molecules. Molecules which are made up of atoms. Atom is made up of neutron, proton and electron. If you break atom's further into sub-atomic particles, the sub particles are in the form of waves. The waves which appears from nothing and vanishes into nothing. So, we can say that from nothing, it becomes everything and what we get is a universe and goes back to nothingness. Let's imagine that.
Let's wipe up the universe clean, away with matter, anti-matter, particles and waves. Now what we get is absolutely nothing. Empty space or vacuum, where there is no atom, no matter, no wave. So, nothing gives us the building blocks for everything. In a sense, empty space is like a vast calm ocean, while water is very still when nothing is happening, a stiff breeze can create serious waves, which result in fields which gives birth to particles.
In another perspective, if we look close enough we find that the atom is almost made up of nothing: An hydrogen atom consists of 99.9999999999996% empty space. It is supposed that if you remove the empty space from the atoms of all people, the entire human race could be fit in a volume of a sugar cube. So, when fundamental unit of us: atom, is made up almost absolute nothing. What are we then? Nothing or a self-created opinion sustained by memory?
Leave the astronomical and scientific viewpoints. And before we touch and know ourselves let us observe everything around us. Nothing seems immensely valuable. Nothing also known as emptiness in philosophical sense. Look around, you are surrounded by nothing/ emptiness. And you have using nothing all the time without ever knowing it. It is only nothingness or emptiness that is useful in life. How is that possible?
The way we see the world is very weird. Whatever that we can see is not actually of the real value. It is often what we cannot see and touch that is offering the real value.
How is it so?
Grab a cup if you can. A cup which you use to drink tea or milk. If you don't have one, imagine.
Now, what are you looking at? Its shape, color and materials or if you look long enough you will end up appreciating the design patterns it has. But you will miss the obvious thing in it that makes its use. A cup is useful not for what you can see. It is useful for what you cannot see — its emptiness.
Without it, it is just a stone. The emptiness in it allows us to use it to it's fullness and drink coffee.
This analogy is applicable to everything.
Look at your house and you will see things, furniture, cupboards, the walls and windows. But that's not what makes a house for what it is. You do not live in them. A house is useful for its emptiness. If you remove every stuff from the house and have nothing inside, it will still useful. Perhaps even more.
Now let's have a look on ourselves. Nothing and us, how much do we have in common?
Let's gather the facts again.
We never pay attention to nothing. The universe began with nothing and ends with it. Your fundamental block of life is almost of absolute nothing. Nothing makes our existence all around.
You as you know yourself to be right now that you exist, but you did not exist before birth, so you came from nothing. After death, your body will break down into different form of matter and 'You' will again merge into nothingness.
Leave life and death aside, we taste nothingness of death everyday.
We all doze off to nothingness when we sleep everyday. We say we sleep. But where do we go? Wherever we go when we sleep we almost seem to love it. Look at a person who sleeps, how peaceful and calm he seems. He is aware of the most obvious thing the universe is made up of: nothing.
Okay so, we have had enough talk of nothing. Why does it matters?
It matters because it's the only place you can be at peace, comfortable and happy.
Yup, nothing is your home.
Nothing is where you belong.
Our mind just like the universe is empty space like a vast calm ocean, while water is very still when nothing is happening, a stiff breeze of thoughts can create serious ripples, which result in waves which gives birth to our world(the way we see it through concepts).
The nature of your mind is like vacuum/ inherently nothing. Thoughts create the world. You get happy in that world. You get sad. You get angry, all based on substantial events occurring. While we work with the substantial, it is the emptiness is what we are constantly using. What if we reject the substantial and remain in that void of nothingness. Will it be natural?
You would be amazed to know that nothing is the best way to be. And you have tasted it quite several times. When you were a child, you did not know anything much and you recall childhood the best time of your life. When you saw a beautiful sunset for the first time, you thought nothing.
Or when you listen to your favorite song or play a sport or do what you love. You don't know what happens. Just like when you fell in love for the first time and you could not describe what happened. And what is something that we cannot describe: nothing.
We also force ourselves into nothingness: when we are overwhelmed with everybody, we prefer to sit alone. When we are tired and exhausted: we want to sleep. And many like to do something different from daily tantrums of life like bungee jumping, drive at high speed, trek only to discover something that they haven't. To reach the state where nothing matters more than the something they are used to. So nothingness allows us to live our life fully. We discover who we are truly when we are nothing, when we loose ourselves from being something. And also if our fear and worries are nothing, our happiness and cheering up will be coming up from nothing as well.
"We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom."
So, wise men say that all we can truly know is: nothing. How do we know it? How do we find anything about nothing?
Answer simple: Meditate.
Meditation is the only activity which has nothing to do with anything, because all it has to do with is: nothing. All you have to do is sit and do nothing, think nothing, and be nothing. Be sure, it doesn't develop the mind, it rather dissolves the mind. It has nothing to do with self-improvement rather it erases the self itself.What is meditation good for then?
Good for nothing.
And excellent for nothing.
But when you get down to nothing, you get down to ultimate reality of who you are. It's then and exactly then that you're sensing the true nature of the universe, you're linked up with the absolute. Where it all began and where it will end. Nothing folks is what you are, and unless you're content with messing up your mind with something or the other all your life, there's this only place to be, somewhere you have always belonged, something that you have always been :
zphilosopher
