Emptiness

Below are the opening stanzas of a Rumi poem. His words encourage us to embrace emptiness, openness, and to loosen our attachment to permanence, to a desire for such.  I love how he honors craftsman in their ability to seek the empty.

Every Craftsman

I've said before that every craftsman
searches for what's not there
to practice his craft.

A builder looks for the rotten hole
where the roof caved in. A water-carrier
picks the empty pot. A carpenter
stops at the house with no door.

Workers rush toward some hint
of emptiness, which they then
start to fill. Their hope, though,
is for emptiness, so don't think
you must avoid it. It contains
what you need!
Dear soul, if you were not friends
with the vast nothing inside,
why would you always be casting your net
into it, and waiting so patiently?

This invisible ocean has given you such abundance,
but still you call it "death",
that which provides you sustenance and work...

from 'Rumi : One-Handed Basket Weaving