Aighways have always been special places for me. Most of the time I wasn't under time pressure, I rarely had to get from A to B in a certain time. Rather, highways are travel routes. I find myself in intermediate states there, a kind of no man's land with an infinite number of possibilities. That opens up thinking spaces. They are often simply empty. The brain is busy moving safely in traffic. It's a pleasant way to keep busy, the mind is busy and alert, a mistake would be fatal. If I am understretched or tired, I drive a little faster or slower, or take a break. This creates a kind of equilibrium.
In this equilibrium, other thoughts can sort themselves out and spin away unnoticed. Only occasionally does my consciousness hold on to a thought. This allows thoughts to find their way without immediately encountering the usual thought filters. I always get to know myself a little anew on the highway, or remember a former self.
Then there is the physical space. This is either familiar and therefore triggers associations that are triggered from outside, so to speak. Or it is a new space that invites you to dream and arouses curiosity. Personally, I always find this positive. I don't really experience any fear or unpleasant feelings on the highway, although I do sometimes think about unpleasant things, that's for sure.
This space of movement, travel, association, gentle stimulation and alertness almost always makes me think about my childhood at some point. After all, I grew up in a country where people drive a lot. It would be nice if that changed soon, and I'm trying to drive less myself. It's no longer in keeping with the times, and it's actually a bit irresponsible.
So this space is a given space. It is not creative or free. It is a space with strong conditions. I like to immerse myself in this space to see what other spaces I actually want to free myself from. It's probably the case for many people that we dwell on our thoughts while driving and want to change our lives in some way.
I like being on the highway. Traveling on the highway is a metaphorical place, a physically metaphorical place - a physical metaphor. I used to think a lot about theories of linguistic metaphors. What do they mean, what is their linguistic reference, how do they work... especially in art and literature. Metaphors are words that mean something different in a certain context than they normally mean. That is exciting!
Traveling on the highway is the opposite of a simulation, and yet these spaces function similarly: simulation spaces and travel routes. Both spaces mean something that they are not actually.
