The Empty Space Within:Ch.4, Part.62-Striving against Fear

How the Fear of Death Creates a Hunger That Nothing in This World Can Satisfy

Exploring how the fear of death shapes war, wealth, power, pleasure, fame, relationship, and the human heart.
In The Fear of Death, I examine the hidden force behind human conflict and longing, offering deeper insight into the root of our struggles.
A book to read before you die—an essential reflection for finding the answer to your life’s journey.

Empty space in our mind

Have you ever felt emptiness in your life? In fact, we always feel like there’s a void in our hearts. Therefore, we’re motivated to do something to fill that void. Furthermore, when we experience stress or the fear of death, the empty room or void within our hearts and souls feels even colder and more arid.

Why is that? It’s because there’s a void in our souls that needs to be filled, and when we’re hurt, this part becomes even more stimulated, yearning for something to fill it.

This inner emptiness feels like a part of us that feels pain, a part that hurts. We desperately want to be filled with something to heal that part. It’s similar to the need for painkillers when experiencing physical pain, but the difference is that this pain exists at the level of the soul, so it’s invisible and undiagnosed.

If this emptiness within us isn’t properly treated and filled, it torments the soul, much like physical pain that constantly seeks medicine. I have observed that throughout millennia of history, humanity has sought to fill this inner emptiness and spiritual pain with worldly means: money, power, and pleasure—visible and tangible things that can be obtained in reality.

However, as if a doctor’s prescription was wrong and people died from medical errors, no doctor has ever been able to accurately resolve this issue. Therefore, our souls become sick, and we become increasingly hungry for whatever remedies are available. Some claim that “freedom is the cure,” even attempting to redefine marriage between men and women, between women and women, between people and animals, or to change their own sexual identity.

This emptiness creates a deep and compulsive emotional hunger. To fill this hunger, we often seek to replace what is lacking with drugs, sex, power, fame, praise, revenge, self-soothing behaviors, addictions, depression, indulgences, conflict, or the obsessive pursuit of wealth or success.

The emptiness within our hearts, like a black hole, endlessly absorbs everything we offer, yet never truly satisfies.

When does this emptiness arise? We are born with this emptiness, but it gradually begins to surface after our teenage years. This emptiness is especially acute when we experience the fear of death through various forms of loss: rejection, job loss, divorce, academic failure, relationship breakdowns, conflict, war, punishment, reprimand, and retaliation.

When faced with this fear of death, our souls find it extremely difficult to endure, as this painful part of our being is touched. However, filling this emptiness with substitutes, counterfeit medicines, rather than proper treatments, is impossible and incurable.

Instead, it produces another harmful effect. It deepens the fear of death, forcing us to constantly fill our already fragile and vulnerable hearts, perpetuating a vicious cycle. Over time, this process erodes our inner selves, leaving us emotionally and spiritually devastated. This is not a true solution.

First and foremost, we must recognize that we are deeply affected by the fear of death, and that this fear consumes enormous emotional energy. We must also accept that the root cause of this fear cannot be resolved through mere human or worldly means. We must recognize that the root of our fear can only be resolved by resolving the issue of death. “Death is resolved,” is the answer our souls yearn to hear.

Dear readers, you are on this journey with me. I sincerely appreciate your patience as we explore these difficult questions together.

If you walk this path with me, we will confront the deepest question of human existence—and search together for an answer that endures beyond death.

I hope you will continue reading The Fear of Death until the very end. Let’s keep going together.

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I write weekly on how the fear of death shapes our lives, our conflicts, and our search for meaning.