Half-full? Half-empty? What is up (or down) with your proverbial glass?

In his book, “Fathomless“, Jackson Pearce wrote,

It is beautiful, it is endless, it is full and yet seems empty. It hurts us.

The book is apparently the third in a series of science fictions novels. While it is not my preferred genre, the title caught my attention and then the particular line quoted above.

Neither Half-Full Nor Half-Empty

It can be hard to fathom being in that space – neither half-full nor half-empty. Your proverbial glass has something in it but you are not sure whether it is closer to full or closer to empty.

half-fullIf you exchanged the word “glass” with “heart” – would it be easier to describe?

Your heart is full but you are emotionally empty?

Your life and schedule are jam-packed with things to do and people to see but a lingering sense of emptiness is at your core?

Full Heart, Empty Spirit

Years ago, at the mid-point of my longest-term relationship to date (16 years) that full yet empty feeling was upon me. We had packed our bags, my child and the dog, migrated to Canada full of hope at the promise of living in a relatively safe, orderly and prosperous country.

Yet, after months and hundreds of job applications, the money that we came with was running out and there was no sighting of the better life we had hoped to find. It would take several years for things to start looking up, economically, and just as a sense of belonging was about to set in, the bottom of my world fell out. My partner left me for another and emptiness was all that remained.

That was an extreme experience of being full and yet empty. We all have our experiences of it – one of the most profound contrasts of life. As they say, you cannot know one without the other. You know what you had when you lose it. The same is true of fullness and emptiness – the half-empty, half-full glass. Criss Jami has an interesting take on this:

“Seeing the glass as half empty is more positive than seeing it as half full. Through such a lens the only choice is to pour more. That is righteous pessimism.”

Do you agree? Is it more positive to see the glass or feeling half-empty?

Share your thoughts in the comments below or on any of our social media profiles. We are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Looking forward to hearing from you.

Peace and Love,

2017

Share our story!