Chapter 1: The Value of Time

Time is an invaluable resource that we often take for granted. It is frequently said that "lost time is never found again" and "time is the most precious thing you’ll ever have." These sentiments ring true; unlike money, which can be regained, time is finite. The moment you spend reading this article is one you can never reclaim, and I sincerely appreciate your attention as you engage with my thoughts.

While we all understand the fleeting nature of time, how do we perceive space?

Consider the space I am currently inhabiting. I am seated in my room, typing on my laptop at my desk—an action I have performed countless times before. My environment is incredibly familiar; I know the layout of my desk, the arrangement of the furniture, and the predictable cycles of day and night.

Yet, despite this familiarity, I have never occupied this specific space before. How can this be?

Although I recognize my surroundings and the objects within them, the space itself is perpetually new.

I am in my room, within my house, on my street, all of which seem stationary relative to one another. Looking out my window, the neighboring houses and parked cars appear fixed in place, unchanged from their established positions.

According to Einstein’s first principle of special relativity, absolute motion does not exist. All motion is relative, which means that while these objects, including myself, may seem still, we are all in motion relative to the Earth.

This planet spins on its axis, and we are essentially rotating on this immense sphere, which is hurtling through space at an astonishing speed of approximately 18 miles per second. In the brief moment it took you to read this sentence, you, along with everything else around you, have traversed around 18 miles through space. In fact, within the few seconds it took you to read this, you've moved nearly 50 miles through the cosmos.

We know that the Earth orbits the sun, held in place by its gravitational force, completing one revolution every year. It might be tempting to think we occupy the same space twice; for instance, you could be in the same spot as you were a year ago. However, this would be a misconception.

As the Earth travels around the sun, the sun is also orbiting the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, which in turn spirals around a supermassive black hole.

The Milky Way is part of a "local group" of galaxies—though it spans 5 million light years, making it a relatively vast area. This local group is situated within a larger supercluster of galaxies that stretches approximately 55 million light years across, all while moving through space and rotating at around 400 km per second.

These colossal superclusters are part of even larger cosmic structures, all of which contain stars, planets, and galaxies, and they, too, are in motion. Additionally, the universe itself is expanding.

To visualize this, think of a partially inflated balloon with two dots drawn a few inches apart. As you inflate the balloon further, the distance between the dots increases, not because they are moving, but because the space between them is expanding. This analogy highlights how, even if objects appear stationary, they are moving relative to each other as the space they inhabit expands.

Current scientific estimates suggest that the universe will double in size in about 10 billion years, although what lies beyond this expanding universe remains a mystery.

So, as you sit in your room surrounded by familiar objects, remember that while the trees and buildings outside may seem motionless, everything is in motion. The Earth orbits the sun, the sun moves around the galaxy, which travels within the local cluster, all within an ever-expanding universe.

Space, like time, is fleeting. Just as we can never reclaim a moment once it has passed, we will never occupy the same space twice.

Each moment—every fraction of a second—is a unique point in space that you have never occupied before and will never occupy again.

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Chapter 2: The Journey through Space

In this episode titled "Why do I not feel allowed to take up space?" we explore the intricate relationship between our perception of space and our sense of belonging.

The video "Four80East - Never The Same Way Twice" captures the essence of change and transience in our lives, paralleling the constant motion of space.