Every morning, the platform becomes a quiet stage for the same ritual. The doors slide open. A wave of movement follows. Eyes glance at schedules, phones, strangers. And in that brief moment before stepping on board, we’re suspended between where we are and where we’re going.
The commute is often treated as a necessary inconvenience — dead time between the “real” parts of our day. But what if it’s more than that?
Look around any train platform and you’ll see ambition, routine, exhaustion, hope. The student rehearsing a presentation in their head. The entrepreneur answering early emails. The creative sketching ideas before the office lights flicker on. The parent savoring a rare quiet moment. Public transport isn’t just infrastructure; it’s a shared corridor of transition.
There’s something grounding about standing in a crowd of strangers headed in different directions yet moving together for a while. You feel part of something larger — a city breathing in sync. The hum of the engine, the rhythm of the rails, the blur of buildings passing by — it creates a pocket of reflection we rarely allow ourselves.
In a world obsessed with speed and productivity, commuting can become a form of mindful pause. It’s one of the few times we’re forced to wait. And in waiting, we notice. The golden light hitting the side of the train. The conversations half-heard. The quiet confidence of someone heading toward a goal they haven’t told anyone about yet.
Of course, not every commute feels poetic. There are delays, packed carriages, and cold mornings when motivation runs thin. But even then, there’s resilience in showing up. In boarding anyway. In choosing movement over stagnation.
Maybe the commute isn’t about getting from Point A to Point B.
Maybe it’s about who we become in between.
So tomorrow, before you step onto the train or bus, pause for a second. Look around. You’re not just traveling through a city — you’re moving through a chapter of your life. And sometimes, the in-between spaces shape us more than the destinations ever could.