The Hole in the Doughnut

Everyone seems to think that the hole in the doughnut is empty space and only the dough has any reality. The truth is that the hole has its own reality: it is the space in the middle, and as such contains within itself a presence pregnant with meaning. The hole is the space of transition, like the pauses between musical notes.   It is the spaces between the notes that make the hearing of the music possible.  And like all pauses, it provides a place in which you can rest for however long is appropriate.

In-between places, empty spaces, are not just dreaded whirlpools to escape from as soon as possible, as though you have landed in some kind of hell. They are halfway houses for transitions between death and rebirth; they are the homing ground of new beginnings, the place where creativity is nurtured. 

 It requires practice to be comfortable in an open space.  To sit with “not knowing”: to let the mind rest for a while and expand into the spaciousness of emptiness. To hear the in-between of life’s music. It takes trust to know there is nothing you need to do, that the answers will come unbidden, that they will emerge from the chaos of the unknown when they are ready. Once the fear is gone, it takes no effort to be in that emptiness. There is just the acceptance of where you are and your own permission to rest for a while and take shelter from the storm. You will emerge whole again when it is time.