Chasing Nothingness: The elusive moment we can’t fully grasp

By Aryan Roy Pal

Experiencing a moment of pure nothingness is an incredibly rare occurrence—so rare that it may happen to us all, albeit fleetingly, yet often slips through our fingers without being consciously acknowledged. The brevity of such moments is such that our consciousness struggles to fully respond and embrace them. As we try to recall these instances from the past, we grapple with the challenge of reliving them in the present or future, only able to savour their essence without truly re-experiencing them.

The intriguing question arises: why do we remember these moments at all? Though the “how” remains elusive, the “why” is a shared understanding. The ability to recall and reflect on these brief interludes seem to be a universal human experience. However, articulating these sensations to others proves challenging, as the feelings are often deeply personal and resistant to verbal explanation.

It’s akin to catching a whiff of freshly cut spices, the aroma of the first rain, witnessing a leaf gracefully detaching from a tree only to be embraced by water, or hearing a melody that perfectly aligns with your mental state. Each individual has their unique way of encountering these moments. For one person, it might be finding serenity in stillness, while for another, it could be the weightless immersion of swimming underwater.

To delve deeper into understanding, consider moments in your activities where you become wholly engrossed, completely immersed in the task at hand, oblivious to everything else. In those instances, you sense, feel, and hear absolutely “nothing”—a state that transcends worry and reality. This extraordinary feeling is liberating, almost godlike in its magnificence. It is amazing, fabulous, marvelous, and, above all, fleeting—a transient beauty, much like everything else in life.