Find time to pause and reflect, especially on MRT escalators

That is why I will always prefer the nipa hut… very cool, placid, relaxing… very much at home in an unhurried environment…

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EVERY morning, while standing on the left side of the upward-riding escalator at Raffles Place MRT station, so as to make way for those who are in a hurry on the right, I would wonder: "Who on Earth will walk up, instead of standing still, on this stunningly long and steep escalator?"

From my observation, there are, in fact, many commuters who do that.

Regardless of the time of the day, there is always a long line of men and women on the right of the escalator moving upward orderly and with haste.

Not only that, commuters are often in a "fighting" mode – they fight their way out of packed train carriages and crowded stations.

Some even run at track-and-field speeds, hoping to get an early start. The scene is like a race.

It strikes me, then, why people try to save some seconds by walking briskly up the escalator: They are constantly in a race.

But are they really in such a hurry?

Indeed, we are sometimes too busy to know why we are so busy, and we just keep ourselves always occupied, like a machine gone wild.

As a result, we can't afford to "waste time" by standing still and doing nothing on the escalator – we have to move forward all the time.

And we repeat the same rushing routine day in, day out.

Perhaps we should make use of the few seconds on the escalator to think about our life and ask ourselves: "Are we really in such a hurry?"

We should find time to pause and reflect. If we could do that, our lives would be less tiring.

Mr Charles Chen Jiacheng

From myPaper, My Say – Thursday, 28-May-2009