8:00 AM. That’s when you entered this train. Its body built with a modern sense of style. Built like a bullet that can exceed high speeds on the tracks, with its aerodynamic edges and sleek flat roof.
As you ride along the train, on your way to your next destination, not quite sure which direction you are headed. You just know that you are going somewhere, somewhere new, somewhere enchanting, somewhere peaceful. You wait on the train, as if the next day were never coming. It becomes warm in your cabin room when the heat from your radiator begins to hit your face, almost taking your breath away. You decide to open the window to cool yourself off. You begin to feel a sense of chilling air. The gust of wind is so mighty, it’s like you can feel it rolling off the mountain and plowing down into the abyss of the valley.
As you sit relaxed in equanimity, listening to the sounds of nature. You begin to sway and move with the motion of the train, swaying back and forth, back and forth. Your ears start to pop as you begin to reach such a high altitude along the mountain. The smell of pine lingers in the air of your cabin from the tall, skinny pine trees along the track. The smell reminds you of Christmas and great family memories as a child.
Your eyes are enthralled by nature’s beauty seeing all the wonderful greenery and the large lake down at the heart of the valley in between two enormous mountains. The birds in the trees are chirping and singing their song while we ride by their habitat. In the distance you can see a hiker climbing on the side of the mountain top. He is so small and tiny on such a large mountain, you imagine an ant on its own mound that it has made climbing up to the very top to reach its home where it belongs. Not too far in front of you is a herd of cows grazing in the field as they feast on their delicious dish, munching away. When the sun begins to set along the horizon, it lights up the whole sky with a motley of colors. Different shades of pink, orange, yellow, and a little bit of purple here and there. And before you could even count to sixty the gleaming fireball was gone along with the colors in the sky.
There is something that happens to nature when the sun sets. The world becomes quiet, except for the singing of certain creatures. Even though the birds stop chirping, the crickets start to sing and the frogs begin to croak around the lake. Although many animals are going to bed, some are just coming to life. The raccoons search for their prey and the owls hoot at the night sky. The outer globe dark, the only thing lighting up the night is the bright bold moon that can be seen from every direction. You begin to notice all of the billions of stars that make up the sky. They twinkle in the sky some more salient than others. You can connect the dots of Orion’s Belt and the Big Dipper. You are comforted by this picturesque scene. You feel a sense of warmth, a sense of happiness.
It becomes chilly in your room. Your teeth begin to chatter and your whole body starts to shake and shiver, so you decide to put a jacket on instead of closing your window. You’re too at peace with the world to close the window and shut out nature. You have never noticed this much nature until now. It’s like this place is foreign, a mysterious sort of wonderland.
You hear the brakes of the train begin to screech as the wheels of the train begin to slow down. You reflect on this past experience and all that it has allowed you to enjoy. You never thought that one train ride could have such a strong impact on the way you think about life and the way you look at the outside world. You hear the whistle blow from the conductor’s booth as the train comes to a stop arriving at the station. As you take it all in, you feel as if you are in some unknown place, as if this place only could exist in a dream, yet somehow this place is real and you are about to get off board and explore it.