Another 18-hour train journey in a hot overcrowded common train carriage made me philosophical. Just thinking what an art it is be transient, not fixed at the moment, letting life happen but realizing that all will pass so not to dwell on negativity.
One could call it meditation. This state of mind really helps to stay calm in the eye of the storm or like this time madness of train ride when I happened to be surrounded by noisy neighbors well known for being loud, as few gypsies with newborns joined us. The lack of ventilation, the stuffiness of the air and the excessive heat of a non-air conditioned carriage did make this particular journey one of the hardest.
The problem in summer in Ukraine is that there are so many train travelers that if one really wants to go to visit tourist towns, there is the lack of tickets and not much of choice. Keeping in mind that unbearable circumstances do not last makes any journey easier. I have friends who suffer from depression and for them, I think, it is even more important to see ourselves as transient through life circumstances.
One just needs to be patient enough to wait for the next station to get off the train ride we don’t enjoy.
