The eloquence of empty places

On empty places and their eloquence.

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Our ancestors were smart. They realised one important thing about us: we function a lot better as a group than mere individuals. That’s why different societies and groups were created in the first place. The general idea among most men, women and others is that we are far more happy when we participate in different group activities.

But even after this, why do pop culture and many art forms tend to romanticize empty spaces? I also have grown to like empty spaces a lot. (Not always though, I will talk about it later)

The current company I work for has a hybrid working policy. This implies you’re ‘required’ to go to the office for at least x days a week. Though it is not a hard dictum. And the value of x changes for each team (as per my observation), and it ranges from 1 to 3.

Fridays are the days when you generally have most people working from home. This is a picture of my work lane from 3 weeks ago (changed it to art, in case there is any objection).

Empty workstations on a Friday afternoon (pic converted by Fotor)

Literally, there was no one. And I quite liked it.

Then, the gym I go to is the office gym. So, if you’re going there before office hours (typically in the early morning like 7:30 AM), there’s a chance you’ll find it empty. And that, I think, is another great feeling. There were days when I had the whole gym to myself, played some Bruce Springsteen and worked out in peace.

Now, while working from the office or during college or school, lunch hours are generally the time when you gossip with your peers. I also like to do that. But once a week, I like to have my lunch by myself. Not talking to anyone. I generally put on earphones, cross the road, and have lunch alone in one of the eateries.

Now here is the peculiar thing about all these. I mostly go to the office 5 days a week. One reason for that is I live far away from my original hometown. Working from home doesn’t really make much sense to me. And it gets boring and quite lonely if you just sit around all by yourself throughout the day. That’s the reason, in a month, I probably WFH 2-3 days at max.

Here is the ironic part of it all. I prefer to be alone at work than being alone at my home. Why is that? I feel it is the difference between solitude and loneliness. Being alone at work is quite solitary. There is a scope for having social interaction but you just prefer to be alone, doing your own work. While, if you are all alone, working from home, there is no scope for that. You are forced to do that. Mind you, the line between solitude and loneliness is quite thin. One has to be very careful.

Even though I am not a pop culture or movie connoisseur, I feel that most movies in pop culture only highlight the loneliness of empty spaces. Very few have actually made an attempt to portray solitude.

Perhaps the eloquence of empty spaces lies in the balance between solitude and loneliness. Solitude can be a source of creativity, introspection and peace, while loneliness can be a cause of sadness, disconnection and despair. Empty spaces can offer us both, depending on how we choose to fill them with our thoughts, feelings and actions. The next time you find yourself in an empty space, ask yourself: are you lonely or are you solitary?

Now before leaving, here is a piece of music from a Wong Kar Wai classic. What does it evoke in you? Solitude or loneliness?

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