Holes
There's a hole in all of us that can't quite be filled. It's that longing I talked about previously. This longing causes humans to search for some purpose or meaning in life. We need to be complete, which implies we know we are incomplete to begin with.

People are very creative in how they try to fill this hole... some call it the search for happiness or contentment.

Most try to fill this hole with achievement. Success at business, sports, school, work, etc. We feel like failures if we don't succeed at our goals and dreams. Most of the time we want to succeed NOW,not even willing to wait or work hard and honestly to achieve a goal. In the American society, money seems to equal achievement or success. We may be good at what we do, but if we don't get paid enough, then we are still failures. Even those who find material success realize at some point that it is not enough.

I once had an enlightening conversation with someone close to me. I asked "What matters in life to you?" This person replied that life is a series of tasks to be completed. Translated that means things to be done, achievement at whatever level you are on. To this person's credit, I think that their actions are consistent with the reply. But I think there is so much more!

Others try to fill this hole with food. Now there actually is a hole in our bodies that needs to be filled with food, but some people try to fill the other hole I am talking about with food, too. Americans eat out of boredom, out of anxiety and stress, and as an escape from boredom or stress. All of which, of course, causes stress on your physical body, carrying around more weight, and giving your something else to be stressed or depressed about.

Many people try to find meaning in life by giving up. They live defeated lives, focusing on the victim that they have become "through no choice of their own." They spend time rationalizing why they are in the state they are. In fact, some try to achieve at failing. Think of those who go on Jerry Springer type shows to show how dysfunctional their lives are. They have decided to not fill the hole at all, to glory in its emptiness.

We can never fully succeed at tasks or at finding happiness... on our own. What happens to a young person who has spent years of school and training only to reach all of his/her dreams by age 30. Then what? After the euphoria wears off, major depression settles in.

Instead of trying to fill this hole within us, we must allow it to be filled. By what... or whom?

To be continued... By Honeycomb