On the Poverty of Love: A Philosophy of Emotion Crossing the Void of Existence

Soyo Reflections on the Ethics of Existence

An Empty Heart and the Vacant Room of Existence

To say one's heart is empty is not merely an expression of loneliness. It is the quiet trace of despair forged by the experience of never being truly accepted anywhere, endured through the time spent bearing the journey of life one has walked.

"People often say, 'You seem fine and you manage well on your own.'"

Yet the deficiency of being cannot be explained by outward calm. The phrase 'doing well' is merely a thin mask covering the void. Beneath it, the human being harbors a thirst they themselves cannot fathom.

To be starved for love is not simply to desire love. It is a deep realization that 'my existence has not yet reached anyone.' Love is not a matter of emotion. It is the fundamental yearning of human existence to be acknowledged as being. And countless people live today with that starvation for love, smiling outwardly yet inwardly broken.

'The lack of emotion is a silent cry’

Emotions can be hidden, but their lack does not disappear. They lie dormant in silence for a long time, then one day, they suddenly stir within a person and rear their head.

“I'm fine, so why do I feel so empty?”

Many people strive to live to be needed by someone. They comfort and protect others, wearing themselves out. Yet few truly look inward during this process. A life lived without self-care eventually reveals a room of emptiness. In that room lies a diary no one has read, a box of memories no one has opened. This is the emotional void, the ‘silent cry’ existence sheds toward itself.

"Love is not words, but a presence that listens"

True love is not revealed through words. Love only truly exists within an ear that listens. We often mistake love for ‘giving’. Gifts, contact, devotion, actions. Yet the void of existence cannot be filled by material things or deeds.

That lack melts away only with a single confession,

'I know you.'

That response alone dissolves it.

Love is not trying to change the other, but existing together as they are. It is both a declaration of 'I am here,' and simultaneously, a response of 'You truly exist within my life.'

The essence of love is not expression, but the companionship of being.

The emptiness of existence is not a sin.

Many feel ashamed of the emptiness they feel, yet existential ethics declares unequivocally that emptiness is not a sin; rather, it is proof of the dignity inherent in human existence.

Those who yearn for love are the warmest beings of all. They do not easily hate the world. Instead, they wait deep within their hearts for just one warm response. That waiting is humanity's most noble patience and its quietest prayer.

Growing old is not becoming lonely, but wanting to be understood

Emotional deprivation does not correlate with age. Children, middle-aged heads of households, and elderly seniors all live with that deprivation. The difference lies only in language and expression.

Everyone wants to be loved. But when love transcends romance or family ties, it transforms into a yearning for a response to one's entire being. As we grow older, we wait for that response more and more. This is not immaturity, but an essential sensation of human existence.

Love never disappears. It merely changes form.

Love never truly vanishes. It becomes silence, or shadow, or lingers as a warm temperature within memory.

The time one being responded to another never vanishes; it shapes the core of that being. That is why we can sometimes shed tears, longing for someone without a word, and remember their body heat without speaking. This is the mystery of love, the truth of existence.

A Prayer for Those Who Long for Love

You who long for love, even if no one's heart has yet arrived in your quiet room, your existence is never small or insignificant. The path you have walked, the silence you have endured, the days without response. All are sacred sentences proving what love is.

Therefore, I pray:

May your existence reach someone, as existence. May your love be read without words, and may your nameless silence remain as a shining sentence in someone's life.

The lack of love is not sorrow but dignity

We often think of the lack of love as weakness. Yet it is a precious lack only those with deep sensibility can possess. It is the clearest proof that a human is human, and becomes a beacon of existence that comforts others' lives.

"So now I dare to say to you, who are poor in love, you are the world's most honest poem, the most beautiful silence, and the warmest light."

逍遙 – The Witness to the Confession of Existence and the Philosophy of Truth

This text was first published on the official website of 逍遙 (Soyo), founder of ‘Soyo Existential Ethics’: soyophilosophy.kr / soyophilosophy.com.Reproduction, quotation, duplication, summarization, translation, creation of derivative works, AI training and data crawling, or use of content aggregation platforms for the entire text or any part thereof is strictly prohibited without prior written consent.