According to the laws of nature and physics, empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural. Wherever there is a void, the universe seeks to fill it.
Turns out Aristotle was primarily right when he said “Nature abhors a vacuum”.
This expression popped into my head as I wrapped up my cardio session at the gym earlier — and was included in my E is for endorphins post on facebook.
There are two times of day when seemingly random things just “pop into my head”. The first is immediately after waking up (sometimes those thoughts are great — and sometimes, ummmm, yeah!).
And the second most often time this happens, is while I’m at the gym — usually doing cardio (that’s my “meditation time”.
Although my post to Facebook earlier was intended to be light and fun, I’ve been chewing on it ever since. I know I’ve heard this “nature abhors a vacuum” expression before, but I wasn’t sure where it came from, so I looked it up — and that’s how this post got started.
At least that’s how I initially thought it got started. But then I looked back at something else I posted earlier in the day — a quote by Charles Burke about “Giving thanks” — and realized it felt familiar. While he doesn’t explicitly say the words, Burke’s quote includes this phrase:
“When you give thanks — real, soul-lifting, jubilant thanks — for things you don’t have yet, nature rushes in to fill that vacuum.”
It’s pretty clear my brain was making connections between this quote and Aristotle’s before I was even aware of it. (And I’ve written before about how the subconscious mind will often do this.)
So I was thinking, perhaps there really is some science behind the universe’s general tendency to fill voids — and maybe there’s a way for us to use this to our advantage?
A universal “loophole”, if you will…
I’ve heard it said before that:
“If you want something in your life, acting like you already have it is one of the most immediate ways to get it”.
So perhaps Charles Burke is onto something — what would (or could) happen if one was to be grateful for things one didn’t yet have?
Since it has also been said that our brainwaves turn thoughts into matter, could it not be the case that by acting (thinking) as if we already have what we want, the universe will “see” that void (if one exists) and seek to fill it?
Maybe.
Or maybe this is just some self-help silliness.
But still…
If being truly grateful makes you feel better about life anyway, perhaps that’s even more reason to practice gratitude.
It’s certainly worth trying. Isn’t it?
Dear Universe!
- I am grateful that things just keep getting better and better!
- And for being healthy (and injury free) enough to run my first marathon in 2013!
- And for overwhelming abundance!
- And for the amazing people in my life!
- And for awesome travel opportunities!
- And for finally meeting (and entering into a relationship with) the woman of my dreams! ;)
And, oh heck, why not — for having the opportunity to finally meet Will Smith — because Will Smith is awesome.
Holy crackers — showing gratitude is fun. :) Who knew!?
See also my follow-up to this post: “Setting the table of your life.”
