The Weight of Below

I took the long way home today, mostly because the elevator in my building was broken again. Standing in the stairwell, I felt that strange, heavy silence that only exists when you are deep beneath the surface of things. It is a quiet that feels thick, like it has been pressed down by the weight of everything built above it. We spend so much of our lives rushing across the top of the world, chasing the sun and the noise, that we forget about the foundations. There is something humbling about being underground, where the air feels older and the walls seem to hold their breath. It makes me wonder if we are all just moving through tunnels, waiting for the moment we finally emerge into the light. Do you ever feel like you are just passing through a space that was built for someone else’s journey?

Francisco Chamaca has captured this feeling perfectly in his image titled To The Deep. It reminds me that even in the busiest transit hubs, there is a profound stillness waiting to be noticed. Does this view make you feel small, or does it offer you a sense of peace?