Nothing is impossible

I'm doing nothing, so I'm doing the impossible.

RJ Pisko, Comment

I’m between rants! I have nothing to say. Oh, wait a minute – there’s a topic – NOTHING!

“Nothing” can be a noun, an adjective, an adverb . . . you get it.

“Nothing” is a curious concept. Most of us a have a pretty clear understanding of nouns – you know, apple, bicycle, or cow. But there are lots of different apples, bicycles and cows. Our personal experiences are what define our perceptions of these nouns, just as our perceptions of nouns like mom, dad, teacher, wife, priest, policeman or dentist. Whoa! Those nouns are WAY different than “thing” nouns like bicycle or cow – the personal meanings of those “thing” nouns depend on whether you’re a competitive mountain biker, road racer, or touring cyclist, whether you prefer Macs, Delicious or Granny Smith apples – or what breed of cows you breed on your ranch or prefer for your burgers. ”People” nouns get really, really personal, and different for every one of us.

Other nouns can be really inflammatory – words like Iran, Indian, Christmas, justice, liberal, conservative – you get my meaning. But, when it comes to “nothing”, we draw a blank (Hahahaha). Wikipedia defines nothing a bit further: “In nontechnical uses, nothing denotes things lacking importance, interest, value, relevance, or significance.” I am amused by that phrase “nothing denotes things” . . .

Back to “nothing”. It’s pretty easy to conceive of “nothing” as none of something. As in “How much do you want for that?” “Oh, nothing.” Or more the confusing “next to nothing”. Hmmmm – what DOES that mean? Or “where did you go?” “Out.” “What did you do?” “Nothing” Hmmmm. Soooo, these things mean, basically, “Almost zero”, and “no activity whatsoever.” Or what was done was so insignificant it deserves nothing more than “nothing”.

I think that “nothing” means an absolute absence of any thing, life, condition, or space, and in the spirit of the Wikipedia definition, words and phrases that come to mind when I try to ponder “nothing” and “nothingness”: zero, vacuum, Duck Dynasty, Toddlers and Tiaras, Republicans, Donald Trump, Yugos, Storage Wars, and the (not) stuff between stars - and death.

I guess to be asleep and not to dream has got to be pretty close to “nothing”.

Whoa, again – there can’t be “nothing”, can there? Even when absolutely “nothing” is happening, or matters- there’s that inevitable process called life – the biological, chemical, and physical on goings of everything. There’s NEVER nothing – you, me, fish, bugs, earth, stars – and the whatever in between - and now I’ve confused myself and have to research “nothing” some more . . .

Here’s a link to some amazing and amusing concepts about “nothing” – you should go there . . . if you’re interested in nothing at all . . . http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A925805