Today I was getting the train into London. Something I do every working day, however today I had missed my train because a Costa coffee suddenly felt like the most important thing in the world and I think a dozen other people had the same idea.
When I got to the platform I had about half an hour to wait for the next train and my hands were so cold, there wasn't really much else to do other than grasp my warm coffee and observe my surroundings. I really like people watching and so that's what I did.
Shortly before the train arrived, a mother and her son arrived onto the platform. I would have said she was in her late 30s and he must have been about 5. They looked as though they were on their way to London for a day trip to the museums/attractions. The little boy kept smiling at everyone he saw. He was in awe of all the important grown ups standing around him.
He had the biggest grin on his face. He was so excited for the day ahead and excited by being at the train station. As silly as it sounds, that little boy really made me think about how we all let ourselves down as grown ups. When you are that young you take things as they come. You go to school and that's all you are thinking about. You go home and all you care about on your way home is what is happening right at that very moment, how colourful and exciting the world is.
Every day I commute to London and I don't think I really pay much attention to what I am doing, when I am doing it. I'm thinking about work, the emails I need to respond to, the meetings I have planned for the day. Or I'm thinking about my weekend plans, housework I need to do, my next holiday. I don't think I actually notice the people around me or ever take a moment to just be.
I think what makes you a happy person is when you are present in everything you do, like the little boy I saw at the train station. When I say present, I mean you are actually there in physical, mental and emotional form. I feel like half of the conversations we have with each other we are all slightly absent from them. My nan is always telling me to stop and smell the roses around me and I think I finally understand what that means.
Mel x
