The Pregnant Void
I was recently introduced to a phrase, “the pregnant void.” (Rachel Wooten coined the phrase in her book, Tara, The Liberating Power of the Female Buddha.) This phrase has stuck with me, and I have been mulling it over ever since. As I understand it, the pregnant void is the infinite potential within and around me. It is whatever that is waiting to become and be birthed through me. It is the infinite unknown and the infinite unknowable. It is also that with which most of us are least comfortable.
Human beings, at least in our modern world, are not comfortable with the unknown. We want to be able to predict the outcome of any given situation. We want to have a plan for every contingency. We want to know how things will turn out. We don’t like uncertainty, especially if it involves discomfort or darkness.
This week in Texas we have had ice, snow, and record low temperatures across the state. The governor declared an unprecedented state of emergency for every county in the state – all 254 of them. There have been long power outages statewide, ranging from minutes to days. Some water systems are not working, and people are suffering greatly. There is a call for heads to roll and blame to be assigned.
The things which we count on for survival, water and electricity, seem to be in very short supply. We take these things for granted and assume that they will always be there, and when they are not there at the turn of the faucet or the flick of a switch, we find ourselves caught up in fear and uncertainty.
This is one more catastrophe on top of many that seem to be rolling over us and society in the past year. Covid-19, wildfires, hurricanes, political upheaval, and now record cold nationwide – the fabric of society seems to be very frayed and uncertain. We don’t know what is coming or how to prepare.
The lesson for me in the midst of all the uncertainty and darkness is to embrace the unknown. I love the term, pregnant void. It implies that something new and unique will be born from the void, something unexpected and delightful. If I can open myself to the dance of yes, not knowing the how or the why, but trusting that the Divine holds me and guides me, then something amazing can be birthed. If I can hold myself in alignment with Spirit and listen to the whispers within, trusting that creation is happening within me, then I can be at peace with the not-knowing. I can accept that outcomes are unpredictable and that not-knowing is a part of life.
What if I can look upon that liminal time of uncertainty, not as a time of darkness, but as the pregnant void? What if I look at it with expectant curiosity and joyous anticipation of what is to be born, rather than wallow in despair? Although pregnancy is uncomfortable and birth can be painful, the end result is usually a new life full of amazing potential. When outcomes are tragic or unexpected, can I find meaning in the darkness? Even when outer circumstances seem tragic, is there something being born within?
When darkness and uncertainty seem overwhelming, trust becomes the guiding principal for survival. I must trust that there is a Divine plan, and I must be open to following it. I must trust that something in this darkness is waiting to be born into the light, and that that something is in alignment with Spirit. I must allow myself to say yes, before I know what I am saying yes to. I must trust the pregnant void and allow Spirit to shape that which is to come into being. I must trust that even in the darkness, there is a flicker of light, something that is waiting to be born from me that can offer hope and healing to myself and to my small corner of a fractured world.
Barbara Garland
February, 2021
