Reflections from a speeding train

Modes of transportation
London, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I call this one planes, trains, and automobiles.

On the surface it's a relatively trivial shot of a laptop. But it's the where and the when that explains why I took it, and why I'm sharing it here. A fast capture by the window of a speeding train headed to Toronto, another long day in a series of long days, another perspective on what hustling for a living looks and feels like, another stolen view of something most folks wouldn't bother to remember in the first place.

I've written about the picture on the laptop screen before. It's been my desktop photo for a while, and I shot it a few years ago while on final approach to Montreal's Trudeau International Airport, during another marathon work trip that had me hopscotching across the country.

I happened to be flying over the suburb, Chomedey, where I grew up, so out came the camera. Wherever I've been since - hospitals, trains, beaches, you name it - this singular shot has helped ground me by reminding me of where I came from, and how far I've come since then.

We're all on some sort of journey, after all. Because we are all so unique, our respective journeys are unique, as well. And they all deserve to be recorded in some way, to be shared, to be remembered. As a reminder of why we need to be thankful for the things we have, and the opportunities that are made available to us.

Because if you can't look back at where you've been and reflect a little, can you really say you enjoyed the ride?

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