There’s one line from Shakespeare that’s been resonating in my head for decades.
I don’t hear it talked about much, maybe because it doesn’t necessarily seem all that profound out of context:
“Nothing will come of nothing.”
These five words can tell us a lot, though — about how to live, and how not to.
But first, let’s hear the line in context.
Act one, scene one.
The dialogue comes from the first act of King Lear.
It’s spoken by the title character, as the aging king asks his three daughters to tell him which of them loves him most.
Two of his daughters — Regan and Goneril — are only too happy to come forward and lay effusive flattery at his feet, telling him exactly what he wants to hear (Goneril says she loves him “beyond what can be valued, rich or rare,” and Regan claims she feels the same, only moreso).
But when he asks his youngest (and favourite) child, Cordelia, she refuses to play his game.
Rather than flatter him with words she does not feel, when he asks her what she can say “to draw a third [of his fortune] more opulent than your sisters,” she responds:
“Nothing, my lord.”
That draws his response:
“Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again.”
Nothing makes nothing happen.
Lear’s line gains meanings as the play rolls on.
On the one hand, it means what it seems to mean: if you don’t flatter powerful people, they won’t be inclined to give you scraps from their table.
But there are many other things going on in this play, as Lear’s vanity and naiveté are exposed and his flattering but utterly treacherous daughters betray him.
The real perpetrator of “nothing” is Lear himself.
His approach to parceling out his kingdom is vain and thoughtless, and results in him banishing his one true child and tying his fortune to the two traitorous ones.
He may offer riches and land, but without the core of true care, connection, and kindness that are required to bind lives together, everything begins to disintegrate.
The “nothing” that he offers Cordelia begins to eat away at his flesh and mind, and in the end, causes both of their deaths.
Cheery stuff, I know. This one’s not a comedy.
Lessons from Lear.
I admit I don’t have perfect recall of every detail of King Lear (I completed my master’s thesis a decade and a half ago, and I haven’t kept up my scholarly habits since then), but I often think of the line “nothing will come of nothing” and use it to inform my actions.
Which led me to come up with what I call The King Lear Rule:
Always give something, because nothing will come of nothing.
What does it mean?
It means be generous. Be honest. Share what you have. Be kind. And be active in doing all of the above.
Easy to say, difficult to do.
Here are three things I try to do to help me live my life according to the rule:
1. Give something of yourself each day.
It’s easy to live in a way that offers nothing to the people in your life. Your partner, your coworkers, your family.
Even though we mean to be kind and thoughtful, it’s easy to get lost in our own minds and forget to connect and share generously.
If you can remember, every day, to do something kind and thoughtful for someone, no matter how small, then you’re doing more than nothing.
And something will come of it, even if you don’t know what it will end up being.
2. Regularly put yourself in someone else’s perspective.
When I think about things through the lens of my own consciousness and my own position, it can be difficult to understand why other people do what they do.
When I think in that way, I offer others nothing in the way of understanding or care or empathy.
Instead, I assume that they are just being unkind or acting against my interests because they’re not good people.
But nothing will come of that.
When I can step outside of those stories and truly imagine what it’s like to be that person in that circumstance — and see myself through their eyes — things start to make a lot more sense, and I find I can be much kinder and more understanding.
So if you’re struggling with the actions of someone close to you, rather than banishing them, sit down and truly put yourself in their shoes. Look at life (and yourself) throught their eyes. Then think about their actions from that fresh perspective.
3. Do something, even when you feel like doing nothing.
Theories are great.
Like looking at a King Lear quote and inventing a rule based on it.
But none of it matters all that much if it’s not accompanied by actions.
So when I’m falling into the habit of doing nothing — not actively caring for myself or others, not doing things to make my life and those of other people better — I try to remember that nothing will come of nothing.
Knowing that, I can see that any action, no matter how seemingly inconsequential, is bound to have positive consequences.
Do something, even when it feels like you can’t. Care for someone. Help someone out. Care for yourself.
Action shakes us loose of our nihilistic beliefs and allows the possibility of growth.
Give others care and yourself kindness.
That’s what the rule boils down to.
I’ve only got two kids, and not much of a kingdom to hand on to them, but when it comes time for me to wander out into the storm on the heath and leave them, I hope it will be with something, not nothing.
We are here for a short time.
Every day and every interaction with another person represents a choice between nothing (thinking about our own interests and trying to further them at the expense of others) or something (being as generous as we can, trying to connect and support the people around us).
I choose something whenever I can. And when I end up choosing nothing, I hear Lear’s rasping ghost in my ear:
“Nothing will come of nothing.”