Being Two Places at Once

Being Two Places at Once

(Post by contributing writer-teacher Cam)

onism - n. the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time, which is like standing in front of the departures screen at an airport, flickering over with strange place names like other people's passwords, each representing one more thing you'll never get to see before you die — and all because, as the arrow on the map helpfully points out, you are here. - The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

As fundamentally social creatures, being physically isolated from other people is really hard. Every morning brings its carnival of negotiations for how one will move through the day. Make my bed? Why? For the routine, maybe; a glowing ember of normalcy; a kernel of control to pivot toward other small successes like a hot shower and a nourishing meal with fresh vegetables. Or a heaping pile of nachos. Whatever!

In the midst of this prolonged social distancing, who hasn’t had the sudden and fiery impulse to be someplace - anyplace -- different from the well-worn carpet of their home?

Being stuck at home, I’ve been looking to things like music, movies, and books to take me away. Sometimes for pure popcorn escapism. Sometimes to learn. Or find solace for what I’m feeling. And sometimes to loosen the boundaries of self: this can happen when we connect with nature, experience a beautiful piece of art, or put the needs of friends and family before our own...

Love can have that effect. I mean, check out The Beatles on “Here, There, and Everywhere.”

(Sharing a Beatles song kind of feels like “The Simpsons did it” cliché -- they’ve said and done it all before -- but a good song’s a good song).

Strong relationships can be transformative, life-saving. They can pull us through a time like the one we’re in. But what about being in multiple places at once?

Science has our backs. A recent breakthrough in quantum mechanics, superposition is “this principle...that particles can exist in two separate locations at once.” If particles can do it, why can’t we? Maybe writing’s a way...

Exercise:

Write about a character who figures out a way to inhabit multiple places at the same time. Explore an experience of “doubling.”

Is this literal? A metaphorical yearning for newness? A desperate escape?

How is this happening?

How does this impact the people around them?

Why are they doing this -- was it intentional? An accidental discovery?

What happens to their experience of time and place?

Do they meet up with themselves?

Fiction, poetry, essay -- whatever form makes sense.

*Recommended listening for getting the prompt started is this 18 minute song by Stars of the Lid. They’re known for their ambient music -- long, soothing, cinematic compositions. Let it take you away as you write. 

* Photo credit: "At the Window in Moonlight," Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy.