https://i.imgur.com/YCtw8r6.jpg

I have always had a bit of a fascination with trains. Not like those men that put on a controllers hat and spend thousands of hours building a model set, that doesn't interest me in the slightest. I find them interesting as they bring together all types of people willing to travel in the same direction. Rich and poor travel by train in most places and on any one commute you can see people in suits, backpackers and those who have just finished a 10 hour shift on minimum wage.

Yet, all going the same way. Of course, there are many different stops along the journey and not everyone gets out in the nice suburbs but, in general, most people want the same things from life. The detail and depth varies but all in all, there is not much difference in the basics. We seem to spend a lot of time worrying about our differences though, worrying what others have or don't have.

Sometimes, I take a look around at all of the useless items I own and wonder what compelled me to buy it in the first place. Well, I think most of us are the same here too, habit. Our habitual tracks are like the trains we ride and even though there may be different stops along the way, unless we change line, we are set on our path.

I am one of those people that believes we can change lines, that we are not set in our ways, at least at a material level. There is mounting evidence that we have less freewill than many realize but I see that we do have the power to choose what aspects of our range we use. Most however do not explore their talents very deeply as we are generally programmed to find something that we are good at and stick to it. This is picked quite early by most and becomes a chosen track that leads into the future.

Once the track is chosen however, very few question what may lay either side in their skill banks. They never truly explore what else they may be good at, what other talents are undiscovered. The more one rides the tracks, the more accustomed one gets to the view and soon it becomes a habitual ride. Dull, yet familiar. Comfortable.

Is this the purpose of life, the purpose of our minds and bodies to find a routine and repeat it over and over until we know little else? with all of the potential we as humans have within us, it seems defeatist to let it go to waste, let it decay into time.

Why don't we push? Why don't we test to see the limits of our mind, our body? Why don't we see how brilliant we can truly be at something? Perhaps we are just lazy or just so disconnected from who we could be that we no longer understand that this potential lays inside of us. We have bought into the idea that the meaning of life is to be entertained as mush as possible.

I am tired of this track. I have been tired of it for a long time and decided a while ago that I am going to see what other talents or interests I may have within, see what is unexplored. Perhaps there is something of value to me, maybe for others too. It could be a fools errand to chase what is not there, but if one is going to look for meaning, there is only one place it can possibly reside.

There is no bullet-pointed list, no guide, no authority to give directions. This journey is always a solo but there are many chance encounters along the way, many who are on their own path of discovery or, complacency. 

If the track leads nowhere, so be it.