The Fertile Void-Busy Doing Nothing

A few new words entered my language the other weekend. I was undergoing a Gestalt therapy workshop for two days. Gestalt theory explains human behaviour in terms of the Cycle of Experience. When we are in stillness with ourselves, with no wants or direction, we are said to be in the fertile void. It describes a time in our lives when we just wait, we do nothing and we give ourself space for ideas or feelings to enter. I realised that I have been in the fertile void for most off 2008. Not knowing what it is I wanted to do but just needing to give myself space for me.

I really love this term, the fertile void can appear when we are in a major life change not knowing what is coming next and not making any major decisions to take action.

We all fill our lives with busyness all the time, the doing of things, jobs, family, friends and life. In this we manage our fear and self doubt as we are too busy to think about it. If life is not working being busy is the best way to truely avoid asking AM I HAPPY. Sitting in the fertile void enables you to answer that question and it may be that you answer "I'm not sure". Like me I didn't know what I wanted I felt anxious about what should come next because I should be doing something yet didn't know what it was. But eventually those feelings moved, they lifted and changed and things began to appear as I had you given them space to.

Its about giving ourselves the freedom to do nothing, not to make decisons and just wait, not control and see what appears. Having a big long extended holiday in our own experience and mind. Doing nothing, absolutley nothing to reconnect with ourselves and who we are. That's a challange. Instead of trying to work stuff out, being in the void is just that- just being and doing nothing, creating a rich and fertile space for newness to arrive. And YES it can be scary and unnerving but it also gives us the fertile place where anything or absolutely nothing can happen. So this week instead of saying "I have stuff to do, I'm really busy" do nothing and see what it brings. I am off to have a lay down. Michelle x