Before something appeared, I was there, and after everything disappears, I will still be here. All of the creation begins with me. So does it ends with me. And yet, strange as it is, nobody ever talks about me! It bothers me a lot, because most people chatter about something, always ignoring me! Neglecting the fact that I sustain something and all his fellow-thing-friends. All these somethings would never happen if it were not for me. I guess only the wisest ones were sure of me. They knew nothing mattered more than everything else. So, here goes the story of me—the story of nothing.
You wouldn’t generally talk about me, because you would probably know nothing about me. And also since there’s nothing to talk about, almost impossible to define. Only nothing defines me. A negation, not anything, no single thing, nothing at all - my distant relatives. Now I know, it’s strange to read something about me, nothing—a thing which everybody probably hates to do. Nobody likes to sit down and do nothing. All the time you want to do something, talk about something, read something, find something, and be something. But, you should know that I, nothing, matter more than something.
Grab a cup if you can. A cup which you use to drink tea or milk. If you don’t have one now, imagine. Now, what are you looking at? Its shape, color, and materials or if you look long enough you will end up appreciating the design patterns it has, if it has any. But you will miss the obvious thing in it that makes it useful for what it is. A cup is useful not for what you can see. It is useful for what you cannot see — all that empty space, the nothing-ness inside it. Without me, it is just a blob of stone. That strange element of nothing-ness in it allows you to use it to its fullness and drink whatever you like drinking. I know this analogy sounds strange, but you see, it applies to everything.
All this life that you are made up of, all these somethings, is happening somewhere, right? You are made up of matter, then molecules, then atoms, then subatomic particles, and then waves, that somehow appear out of nothing, and vanish into nothing. Wipe out the entire universe, you will get me. Pick an atom, almost a hundred percent of it is empty. Yes, I happen to live in every atom of this universe. They say if you remove me, the empty space from the atoms of all the people, the entire human race could fit in the volume of a sugar cube! Isn’t that incredible?! All you are essentially me!
You see, sometimes what we generally perceive as something is not of any real value. It is often what we cannot perceive, see or touch that offers more value.
Again, look around yourself, in the room or the house. You see somethings - furniture, cupboards, the walls(separating the nothing inside from the nothing outside). Now look close enough, it’s not all that stuff that is making the house for what it is. You do not live in them. You live in the house for the space it gives you. All the nothing that comes along with it. I give you the power to fill it with something or someone. And even if you remove all the somethings from the house and have nothing inside, it will still be useful. At times, even more!
And don’t get me wrong, if nobody ever talks about me, I am not very different from you. Although we do not talk much, we know each other well. I know you love to spend time with me, at least some of the time after you are done doing something. You wouldn’t remember but before the world told you who you were, I was you. From me, you become something and it is from me again you will become something even greater.
Sometimes, when you have had too much of something, overwhelmed with everything else, you prefer to be alone with me. When you are tired, you want to sleep and think of me for hours. Maybe you find some peace and happiness within me(I don’t know for sure). But I do always enjoy your company. I belong to you as much as you belong to me. I know it’s hard for anyone to define me and the relationship we have, but your existence defines me. It gives meaning to mine. And I know it would matter nothing to you, reading this small story about nothing. But this time, you see, it matters something to me!
Note: This was written as an exercise on freewriting for a creative writing course hosted by Maria Hoey, inspired by an old post long time ago, Nothing Matters.