The Space Between
No, I’m not referencing the 2001 mega hit song from Dave Matthews band (though I bet you’re humming it now) No, I’m not even referencing in any way the well-known Netflix show Stranger Things which focuses on this world and the other side of the world we occupy. Though that may make for a good reference down the road. I’m writing about environments, atmospheres and us. I’m writing about how space impacts people, not so much the distance between two objects but the overall influence that an environment has on those in it. Recently I was referencing a study that was done decades back at Harvard in which 8 elderly men were put in a sanctuary for 2 weeks, this sanctuary was intentionally outfitted from top to bottom to reflect a begotten era, a time from these men’s past — a time where they were younger, stronger, faster and more cognitively sound. From old Time magazines on nightstands being presented as current news, to rules being given to these men that all conversations they had were to be of the time era that they now were participating in. Each of these men were immersed in a world that they once occupied, their environment being reflective of better years, healthier and more robust times.