How the pattern keeps itself turning

Four boxes, and the arrows between them are the mechanism. Follow the loop round once, slowly.

A rule appearsYour world getssmallerYou explain it toyourselfThe consequencelands
Isolation is the ring around all four, and it is the condition that lets the loop keep turning. The diagram shows a loop running through: A rule appears, then Your world gets smaller, then You explain it to yourself, then The consequence lands.