One Apple A Day #75
“It turns out that roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 27%. The rest - everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter - adds up to less than 5% of the universe.”
from https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy
I spent last three days on a retreat with other people.
My idea of a retreat was the combination of a beautiful location with a group of like-minded people. With this vision in mind, the success of a retreat depends on both these factor but in particular on the second one. Great people, great results.
This particular event, in a sense, confirmed my idea. The location was great, the people outstanding and the results exceptional.
Though, during the event, I realised that the secret ingredient, the main responsible for the success of the whole experience was the empty space between us. Since the very beginning, the group has created an empty space in the middle. Both physically, arranging ourselves in a circle with nothing in the middle, and figuratively, using silence and focusing more on listening than talking.
This space in the middle acted as a vacuum. It attracted our thoughts and ideas. It took the best out of us and put it in the middle, from where everyone was able to observe and absorb.
This experience reminded me of my journey in Patagonia. I felt something when I was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing visible in any directions. All the emptiness around made impossible for me to keep my feelings and emotions inside. They run out in search of empty space to fill.
Our lives are so intense and full of stimulus that we don’t have the opportunity to experience emptiness. All our beautiful ideas, thoughts, emotions are compressed inside us from the external pressure of the dense life we live. We must find the time to create some space outside, made of emptiness and silence, to let our thoughts and emotions flow out.