The Empty Soul

"How many times has your soul felt empty

and then maybe, a temple for all near you became? 

                                                           Hafiz

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How many times has my soul felt empty?

Perhaps a better question might by

how many times has it not?

Of course I am a dramatic kind of guy

who rarely shows passion

but often feels passionate

about life

about God

about love

but all too often

my soul feels empty

and I?

well I simply feel tired

 tired and alone

barely able to crawl out of bed

and face another day

and it is all so 

unnecessary

I am slowly coming to understand that we create our own suffering

we become attached to our cravings

our desires

we all have our unique desires

for love

or success

or influence

or power

it doesn't matter what we desire

we become attached to those desires

and then

we don't get there

and the gap between what we desire, and what we have?

therein lies the pain

and thus is born

the empty soul

St Augustine once said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee (meaning God)

Rumi has a phrase that goes “The only real rest comes when you are alone with God”

The only cure for the empty soul is God

fullness can come

it comes when we hold on to God as tightly

 as God holds on to us.

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“All you want is to be happy.  All your desires, whatever they may be are a longing for happiness…Desire by itself is not wrong.  It is life itself, the urge to grow in knowledge and experience.  It is the choices you make that are wrong.  To imagine that some little thing, food, sex, power, fame, will make you happy is to deceive oneself.  Only something as vast and deep as your real self can make your truly and lastingly happy”

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