The Rhythm of the Crowd

I was walking through the subway station this morning, clutching my bag and trying to dodge the rush of people heading toward the trains. It’s easy to feel like a ghost in a place like that, just another body moving in a predetermined line. I found myself watching a woman in a bright coat who seemed to be moving at a completely different speed than everyone else. She wasn’t rushing; she was navigating. It made me think about how we all exist in these tiny, overlapping bubbles of purpose. We are constantly brushing shoulders with strangers, each of us carrying a different destination, a different worry, and a different rhythm. We think we are alone in our own little worlds, but we are actually part of a massive, breathing machine. It is strange how we can be so close to so many people and yet never truly know the story behind the person walking just a few inches away. Do you ever wonder where all these people are going when you are stuck in the middle of a crowd?

Simran Nanwani has captured this feeling of shared movement in the beautiful image titled Coming Through. It perfectly mirrors that sense of finding a path through the noise of a busy day. Does this scene remind you of your own daily commute?