Dear commuters,

Like many of you, I find myself on autopilot every morning. I look at my phone, or gaze at the road just barely noticing anything or anyone. I am focused on getting to the office. I know where everything is. I don’t need the tube map and I definitely don’t create any traffic at the entrance to the station. How annoying, right?

Every morning, I am in a troubling hurry. Any question I get asked or flyer I get offered, I have the automatic response “No, thank you!” And I don’t even know what that is. I do not pay any attention. I have to get to work. All the missed opportunities…

Today, I was on the other side. I was the one handing out flyers. I was struggling. Almost 40 minutes outside Liverpool Street Station and all I got was “No, thank you!”. Smiling didn’t help. Not even one soul asked or waited to hear what the flyers were all about. I was struggling. And all the while exhausting my confidence.

It is so easy to lose ourselves in our daily commutes. We go on autopilot and forget to notice the world around us. We are blind to the opportunities that could be passing us by. We are death to the freedoms that might open up our ways. Yes, 99% would be terrible marketing material. Things you will never need or never buy. But those could spark some thoughts. Help with some trends. Widen up some paths. So tomorrow, when you are on your way to work, boarding that tube or exiting that station, do notice what is different! What changed? Who is around? What stall is giving out freebies? Wait, are they playing music at Temple Station? How about the fruit vendor, did you say hello? He might be the next Sainsbury. # Remember to notice the world, you never know what will inspire you to be better. Yours truly, *A fellow commuter.*