Holding the Train in Your Arms

Then I started imagining how the carriage I was sitting in would look from above. You would see all these different people, sitting, or standing, in their different spaces, all moving along in the same direction, without even realizing so. All these people being just another me: on the road to somewhere, hoping to have a good day, wanting to be happy and to escape the suffering going on everywhere, be it a tragedy in the family or the hammering drudge of an everyday routine.

After letting this thought float through my mind for a while, I realized that this wasn't the only carriage in the train. And that all the carriages in this train were doubledeckers. And that it was an extra long train because of the rush hour. That's a whole lot of people chipped together, each in his or her own bubble, but all wanting the same thing and travelling in the same direction.

Then I pictured each one of the people I could see around me with a smile. A smile like you have when you leave your job after a days hard work. It's a sunny day and you suddenly remember that actually the weekend has started! Almost anybody will recognize that feeling and almost anybody will have his or her typical smile to go with that moment. I imagined the whole train, every person in it, smiling in that particular way, and boy, did that change the atmosphere!

All of a sudden the phone calls going on around me weren't that annoying anymore. It was simple communication going on. Just like the two ladies chattering: the sound of people sharing something and not being alone. Someone really enjoying the music they love the most. Someone scanning headlines and connecting with the world.

When the time came to leave the train, I almost felt sorry I had to leave all these people behind. We travelled together for half an hour, at the same speed, on the same track, in the same direction, sharing the same goal. So while leaving the train and gently pushing my way through the mob shuffling in front of the exit, softly smiling I thought: May you all be happy, may you safely continue your journey and i thank you for letting me travel with you today.