Since I’ve moved university, I’ve discovered the infamous Transport for London. Ah, with TFL we’re rushing nowhere at high speed. A lovely thought nugget popped up on a poster at my station yesterday however, ‘there’s more to life than increasing its speed.’ I wandered back to my digs a bit less hurriedly. In that time I smiled at two people, and got one back in return. I answered a friend’s phone call and texted a (bad) joke to my brother. These snatches of contact are more important in our fragmentary experiences than we realise.

Many of us relate to the modern ennui, spread by faster technology, communication, machinery. Many of us are not unhappy; just waiting for a time when we will become happy. This strange cycle of rushing towards something that we seem forever bound to wait for is driving us to distraction. Now, hold back a little while. Take five minutes from your daily dash to the bus-stop. For if there is any kind of magic in the world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone else, sharing their life if even just for a moment. The answer of our lives must be in the attempt to make time for others. What we have, our time together, is ours – our creation – and ours to protect.

Amy