Typical for Public Transport

Of course. Here is the text translated into British English, aiming to capture the tone and nuance of the original Dutch.

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It's typical of public transport that you always have to rush to be on time, while the transport you're waiting for calmly keeps you waiting. The waiting itself isn't the problem, were it not that it's often on draughty platforms (have you ever stood in the wind on an underground station? It's no wonder it's the perfect setting for a murder scene).

Before I got on the train, I spoke with a friend and we shared our experiences, which are decidedly not always rosy (let's say far from rosy). We don't have control over all circumstances, and taking fate into your own hands, seeing the positive side of everything, not letting feelings play a role—it's all easier said than done, but above all, it costs a great deal of energy. Energy that generally isn't there when you're in survival mode.

Anyone who doesn't suffer from this can't imagine how difficult it is to drag yourself out of bed every day when you'd rather do nothing but sleep, because sleep is the only thing that offers rest and makes time pass without too much suffering.

Time? It's a bitter pill to swallow when you at some point wake up (realise) that the greater part of your life has passed and everything you did turns out to be meaningless. Meaningless in your own eyes, measured by what others think of you, based on the expectations of others.

It's a fact that loneliness is on the increase, and Steemit is definitely no exception. Keeping yourself frantically busy to keep up appearances, being fixated on a set goal, doesn't mean there are no feelings of loneliness or that bullying doesn't take place.

Anyone who is bullied a lot in daily life (by family, neighbours, employer, colleagues) and is looked down upon has no time to live life. Not even with the knowledge that this life is all they have and that it could be over in a few weeks or days.

"What would you do if you knew you would die in 24 hours?" is a frequently asked question, and I myself wouldn't know. Would I spend that day with my loved ones? Are there tasks I would still need to wrap up? (Is that even possible if you're going to be dead in 24 hours? This usually implies one's health is already terribly bad, after all, most people don't die in traffic accidents). What would you do if you could truly choose and time and distance played no role? Would you lie on a warm beach enjoying a cocktail, jump off Mount Everest, go skydiving, or use a machine gun to shoot everyone who has soured your life? Simply to do a good deed and ensure that sort of person doesn't pull the same dirty tricks on others?
I still find "The Glory" an exceptionally strong series where a victim of bullying does everything in their power to make the perpetrators pay. If only more people would do that, there would be fewer broken souls walking around and considerably fewer bullies who enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Waiting for public transport, just like travelling on it (especially on longer journeys during what we call off-peak hours), is an excellent time to write undisturbed and to call on everyone who feels like an outcast to stand up, stand up for themselves, and try to make something of their own life. I will be the last to say this is easy, and indeed, I am also the last to say that you have to fight forever and that life is a gift for which you should be grateful (I wouldn't know why).

There is only one thing that is certain, and that is that everyone's life comes to an end, and you can decide what that end looks like.

Perhaps it's a good idea to take a moment of rest and ask yourself what you have done for yourself (note: 60% of people say they are happy if they at least once a week have to do absolutely nothing and nothing means: nothing. No washing up, not getting dressed, no commitments, no listening to nagging, no chores...) and how you want your life to look.

Feelings can be overwhelming and cannot be ignored, unless a doctor intervenes and ensures all feelings are flattened, making life somewhat more bearable, though questions will remain, including what it's like to feel something.



^26.9.25