My impression of physics is that space-time is like a field that emanates from energy/matter at the speed of light in a slight curve. When these fields overlap their curves compound - the more energy, the more overlap, the more curvature.

Without energy there is no space-time. Space-time could be thought of simply as information about the energy that it emanates from.

Apologies for the tangent from this amateur. But it seemed similar to your thoughts.