Alone in a Locked Empty Room

You might know this Blaise Pascal quote: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

What would I do if I were to be left alone, locked in an empty room?

In Stephan Zweig’s novella The Royal Game, one of the main protagonists, Dr B., follows a similar fate. After searching frantically the room out of boredom, he stumbles upon a book hidden in the cellar and teaches himself to play chess reading it. He starts playing against himself and develops a split personality before suffering a mental breakdown.

The root problem, in my opinion, is our inability to enjoy boredom. Our brain is wired to seek change and stimulation, and it takes us several years of meditative practice to turn off our train of thoughts. In this extreme situation, it’s no cliché to say we are our own worst enemies. 

The only way to stay sane would be to learn how to program our brain to repress its cravings for distractions, how to see inward rather than outward. Exercising, stretching, meditation… those are the kind of activity I would focus on if I were to be in the same circumstances.