Closed off in time
A room is a place closed off in time, or not. I have no idea. This is where the thoughts of the following trailblazing nonsense emerge from.
Rooms are built and rules are placed. Following this logic, thoughts arise about what a room can be. It can be a place to spend time in. Some rooms are locked away and filled with relics of the past. A room can be a shared space. A place to share time. A shared room. A space where all can be. Do rooms follow rules? Or do rules follow rooms? Does the room exist before the rule? Some questions that can lead one down an existential thread.
My room has a few rules in place. No shoes. No smoking. Just to mention a couple. What other rules are placed into rooms? Does time create rules? As time goes by, new rules are created. As we spend time in our rooms, we create more rules. No shoes wasn’t a rule in the beginning of my room. It came with time. Time spent in my room. Time spent shaping my room into what it has eventually become.
Let’s circle back. We have a trio: room, rule, and time. Each follows the other like ducklings. One appears, followed by the other two. Which appears first? Time creates a room, which then creates rules. A room with time brings rules. Rules over time can make rooms?
I think we can create a game of mix and match, figuring which follows what and in which order they originated. But what is true is that each person’s experience with the ducklings can vary. I can create rules before I have a room, and time will eventually bring them together.
I can also make a room and over time create rules for it. Time can give a room, and as more time passes, rules are created. As I fumble through these combinations, I realise that time is constant. Time brings rules and rooms closer together.
Time in a room. A room in time. A room is physical, time is a dimension, and a rule is a restraint. Notice how these combinations are put together: ax+y, x+ay, ax+ay. I am going deep into conspiratorial lands and seeing patterns where they clearly are not.
As I embark on the journey of seeing things where they could be but probably aren’t, my mind reminds me that rooms, rules, and time are all human inventions. Our ability to stretch the truth and create realities where others follow. My room, my rules, my time. If someone else enters this conundrum, they will (hopefully) abide by them. And when I enter theirs, I will adhere to whatever reality they have created.
Our capacity to create is our superpower as humans. It’s important in life to create the right rooms to spend time in. If we don’t, life can be difficult and unpleasant. An unpleasant room will make my time feel depressing. On the contrary, a nice room will be reinvigorating and lead to novel thoughts.
How to conclude this wander? I think the spaces we occupy are important. I have spent time in a room that wasn’t to my liking and made me feel dreadful. Select and curate your rooms carefully and with intention. If we all did that, we’d live in a wonderful place.
God bless.