Just as I prefer warmth against cold over warmth for its own sake, I believe that I prefer light against darkness over light for its own sake. One lamp in the living room, lit for the sake of reading; one lamp above the stove in the kitchen, through the doorway on my right, to give depth to the world. Two islands in the night. I am safe where I am. If I wish to move, I have a destination. I can connect the dots on my own.

In the same vein, it is easier to drive at night. Headlights create their constant island before me, drawing me onward into the only world that exists; the only possible desination. Safety is always just ahead, and that’s where I’m headed.

Anything else is overstimulation. Excess. It’s too much. It has no curve. Light has no meaning unless there is something to be lit. Warmth has no meaning unless there is someone to be warmed. Everything needs context, or else it is merely noise.

And then there is sound.