Appreciate art, air and aroma in the third space with comfortable heart

doi:10.15406/ijcam.2023.16.00653

International Journal of

eISSN: 2381-1803

Complementary & Alternative Medicine

Editorial Volume 16 Issue 4

Appreciate art, air and aroma in the third space with comfortable heart

Hiroko Ogawa,¹ Hiroshi Bando,^1,2 Kei Tanaka,³ Shinji Nagahiro^1,4

¹Shuseikai Medical Corporation, Yoshinogawa Hospital, Japan
²Medical Research/Tokushima University, Japan
³Division of Integrated Arts and Social Sciences, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Japan
⁴Emeritus Professor, Former Director of Tokushima University Hospital, Japan

Correspondence: Hiroshi Bando, Tokushima University / Medical Research, Nakashowa 1-61, Tokushima 770-0943 Japan

Received: July 21, 2023 | Published: July 28, 2023

Citation: Ogawa H, Bando H, Tanaka K, et al. Appreciate art, air and aroma in the third space with comfortable heart. Int J Complement Alt Med. 2023;16(4):209-210. DOI: 10.15406/ijcam.2023.16.00653

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Abstract

The word “the third space” has some meanings, including the compartment with edema or ectopic fat. From social and human points of view, its novel concept was proposed by Ray Oldenburg. He defined it as local community, and the combined status of i) home for private time and ii) school/office for official occasion. It also has adequate TPO (time, space, occasion) for feeling easy and casualty with some common hobbies without tension. Another crucial concept would be “nomad” by Jacques Attali. It means changing working style and active creator class with internet development worldwide. Thus, new era has come.

Keywords: The third space, Ray Oldenburg, nomad, Jacques Attali, Hinohara-ism

Commentary

In medical field, a concept “the third space” has been present. It means a place in the body that is neither in a cell nor in a blood vessel. When any inflammatory reaction happens, body fluid in the blood vessel leaks out of the tissue due to increased permeability.¹ The compartment where water is retained has been called the third space, which is equivalent for edema. The third space has been also used in fat metabolism. Conventional categories include subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Further, ectopic fat exists in other organs such as liver, muscles, heart, pancreas and other spaces, that would be the third space.²

On the one hand, the third space has a broader meaning in our lives. The world is undergoing drastic changes in daily life with the development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).³ Among them, the impact on people's mind and body has been great, and their daily actions are considered with close attention. In the light of behavioral science, three important places exist for our lives. The first is home that is private world, and the second is school or work that has official aspect. The third has been called as the third place that exists between private and official⁴(Figure 1). In general, it is a place where the interaction with the local community can be developed through probable same hobby or other common matters. People can feel easy and enrich their lives in such places.

Figure 1 The relationship among first, second and third places.

In the late 1980’, Ray Oldenburg proposed the novel concept of “the Third Places”.⁵ He was a sociologist for urban sociology, and majored in civil engineering, urban planning, architecture, urban design, and perspectives of facilities suitable for the third place. He recognized “the third place” as a local community. Eight aspects are present in this concept. They are i) neutral territory, ii) egalitarianism, iii) conversational activities, iv) regular and members, v) accessibility and facilities, vi) modest attitude, vii) good mood and viii) second home. From another point of view, third place has the following features. It is a place where people can drop in casually, and the role of the leader creates and maintains a good atmosphere in the organization.⁶ For that reason, first-timers are welcomed comfortably, and participants can feel easy in the place without worrying about hierarchical relationships between companies and schools.　

Examples of third places in Europe and the United States are the TPO (time, place, occasion) where people can gather, such as cafes, bars, parks, general stores, and bookstores. In Japan, some examples include sports gyms for physical training, piano music classes, club activities, classes for Japanese chess (shogi) or go (playing using black and white stones), other lessons, and communities of people who share the same interests and goals.⁷ People can just enjoy with the same hobby as they like. Recently, more high school and university students are studying at coffee bars, cafes, fast food restaurants and others. This is called nomadic learning and is considered to be a type of the third place. The word "nomad" is derived from the French word "nomad", and it means a nomad or a wanderer in English language.⁸

The word “nomad” was proposed by Jacques Attali. He had been the advisor to French president Mitterrand in 1980’, and established European Bank for reconstruction and Development in 1990’.⁹ He was also a prolific essayist and writer, with numerous works on economy and politics. He wrote a brief history of the future,¹⁰ in which he introduced the novel word and concept of nomad. He proposed the new era that the creator class will be active regardless of time and place associated with the internet development across the world.

Although the word “nomad” has existed for a long time, it was only in the last ten years that the internet has developed rapidly across the world and the work style has begun to attract attention.¹¹ Nomad has three advantages, which are i) productivity improvement, ii) relief from interpersonal stress, and iii) easy income increase. On the other hand, the disadvantages seem to be i) the need for strict self-management skills, ii) a decline in social credibility, and iii) the evaluation of credibility and reliability, especially in local areas.

The comparison for similar situation would be considered between nomad and freelancer. The former is in a state that is mainly free to work anywhere without constrained. In contrast, the latter means a person who signs a contract with a company or individual taking most advantages with his own skills. Consequently, some people are working as both of nomad and freelancer in various situations.

As to the third place, other office area may be present. They include co-working office, sharing office, rental office, and others related situation.¹² These offices mean the novel type of working styles associated with the third place. They seem to be described as a place to interact with other people. In contrast, some people say "I want to have a place where I can spend time alone”. For such people, they can spend quiet time by himself without being disturbed by anyone, where it may be the third place for himself. Another case can be introduced that a person wants to camp alone in nature, enjoy the calm sound of chirping of birds, smell the trees in the forest, and appreciate the soundscape and landscape in itself.

Authors and co-researchers have been involved in aromatherapy, hospital art, music therapy (MT), psychosomatic medicine (PSM), integrative medicine (IM) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).^13–15 Consequently, we would like to propose the appreciation of art, air and aroma associated with the time and space of the third space. This article becomes hopefully a useful reference for human happiness of Hinohara-ism as well as wellness development of our society in the future.