All Business

There was always people rushing around. In the train station, the carts were usually packed to the brim. Except at ten o’clock am, that was the deadliest hour, when silence creeped up onto the subway tiles and covered the concrete floors. After this hour had passed, the shuffling of shoes returned, along with the rustling of jackets scraping up against each other, bodies covered the tiles and the floors, they took up all space available. Behind the telephone booth, I watched all of them, each and everyone had an illuminated face, the screens two inches away,  paying no attention to each other, I was the only one who saw, I was the only one who noticed, just me. And behind the telephone booth I remained, taking in the sight of all the people who no longer exemplified happiness but reflected misery, by reading their faces and studying the way they moved I could see that they were jailed to their schedules with their emotions buried deep.

Everyday, no matter where I was, I noticed heads tilted to the ground, and feet moving as though the person was in an Olympic speed walking competition. This body language saddened me, and I know that is a silly thing to say but it is true, it disturbed me how people were so consumed in themselves and gave little attention to others.

“At least they are not being rude to each other as they walked by.” is what you are probably all thinking. Except, this was rude, they had lost their kind-heartedness towards humans by being so involved in their screens and schedules. With their emotions buried deep in themselves they could no longer connect to people, and their lack of humanness was shown.  

By the lack of humanness people became robots, who followed a checklist, “have I stayed up till the crack of dawn to do all my work, have I had no fun all week, have I done everything that takes away all joy from my life?”  People today have become so focused on the “have finished”, and are forgetting about the “I am living”:they are completely losing the “I am me” and all the quirks that make them who they are, and are only concerned about their workload and not taking time to look around and enjoy the beautiful planet they live on.

People miss out on the unique people who surround them everyday because they think it is better to keep on chugging along and following their schedule rather than stopping and beginning a conversation with someone they do not know.  Society does not realize that the world is brighter than their screens, and it has so much more to offer. Throughout the world, it would be nicer if people could realize all the different individuals around them, and put down their phones to smell the roses and  truly enjoy the life they are living because everyone’s time is limited.

Suddenly, humans began putting away their phones when around others and starting a conversation with their neighbor on a the train, people started walking slower with their heads up smiling, and no one was in a rush. People finally understood that real human connection was refreshing from their robotic lives just like how drinking cool water on a sweltering day was. Unfortunately, people understanding was just my dream.