Absence and Presence Are Sisters

The ebb and flow of presence is a current that runs through the whole of life. It seems that absence is impossible without presence. Absence is a sister of presence. The opposite of presence is not absence but vacancy; where there is absence there is still energy, engagement, and longing. Vacancy is neutral and indifferent space. It is a space without energy. It remains blank and inane, untextured by any ripple of longing or desire.

By contrast, absence is vital and alert. The word “absence” has its roots in Latin “ab—esse,” which means “to be elsewhere.” To be away from a person or a place. Whatever or whoever is absent has departed from somewhere they belong. Yet their distance is not indifferent to the place or the person they have left. Though now elsewhere, they are still missed, desired, and longed for. Absence seems to hold the echo of some fractured intimacy.