My journeys on the train make me think a lot about life. Perhaps it is the lack of ever remembering to bring a book to read or music to listen to that make me tune in on what’s going on around me to such an extent but I often feel that life on the train is like a snapshot of life at large and some of the things we do as passengers can be directly correlated to the things we do in life.
Yesterday, a ‘lady’ stood beside me on the platform as we waited for the train to pull in. This lady, who had stood patiently and quietly with the commuting congregation until the train made its approach then turned animal as she scrambled to get in the door of the train and onto a seat. She pushed and jostled her way on to the train using her knees, elbows and handbag to battle people out of her way and then threw herself into a seat with a self satisfied sigh of relief.
As I took my seat, without pushing or assaulting any of my fellow passengers, I began to think about that lady and how she had conducted herself. Did she not feel a fool for letting herself down so badly in getting to her seat? Did the seat really matter to her that much that she was willing to do anything to get to it? Was she even slightly worried about what the people she would spend the next hour in company with thought of her?
Obviously not.
Despite this lady’s actions, I think it is fair to say that people like her are thankfully in the minority and maintaining self respect and the respect of others is important enough that taking the high road is the preferred option for most.
Note to self – next time, remember to bring a book.
Oh yes and in case I have confused you, the clip is just something funny to ease the seriousness of the above text.
