Growing up, my Grandad would often go and sit at the train station for hours by himself. I never understood why until I heard Kurt Vonnegut share his thoughts on a conversation he once had with his wife.

"I once told my wife I was going out to buy an envelope:

"Oh," she said, "well, you're not a poor man. You know, why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet?" And so I pretended not to hear her. And went out to get an envelope because I have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.

I meet a lot of people. And see some great looking babies. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And I'll ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don't know.

The moral of the story is – we're here on Earth to fart around.

Of course, the computers will do us out of that. But what the computer people don't realise, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And it's like we're not supposed to dance at all anymore.

Let's all get up and move around a bit right now…or at least dance."

My Grandad and Kurt Vonnegut were from a different era. A time when life was much slower. Perhaps even simpler.

After reading this short passage I got to understand my Grandad a little better. He wasn't just sitting at the train station for hours by himself for nothing. He was witnessing life. He was participating in life. He was giving meaning to the mundane.

Maybe he met a lot of people, saw some great looking babies, watched fire engines pass by and gave them a thumbs up. Perhaps he even saw an occasional dog and asked the owner what breed it was.

Perhaps he was revelling in the simple act of being alive.

I occasionally find myself sitting at my local train station now, reminiscing on the good times I spent alongside my Grandad.

I observe people at different times of the day and in different states of being. Some are rushing to work while others are trying to hold their family together. Some come in groups of friends while others travel alone.

All walks of life come and go, most of them in their own worlds. Occasionally, someone looks up and holds my gaze. But this is rare. Most of the time, people are so focused on where they need to go that they don't notice me sitting there and giving meaning to the mundane.

I wonder if my Grandad used to have similar thoughts…

In those contemplative moments, it's like he never left me.

Closing Thoughts

There are two lines that jump out at me every time I read Kurt Vonnegut's short passage.

The first is, "We're here on Earth to fart around."

This is so refreshing to me because life can get complicated at times. Kurt Vonnegut reminds me not to take myself too seriously.

The second is, "We're dancing animals… You know, we love to move around. And it's like we're not supposed to dance at all anymore."

Adults don't have many outlets to play and be silly. For some reason, we leave that behind in childhood. Dance is one of the few places we can be free.

Dance always used to be a serious thing. I feel like I either had to "get it right" or at least look cool doing it. Both took the fun right out of it.

Nowadays, maybe it comes with age, I try and combine dancing with farting around and it's become a lot more enjoyable.

So, as Kurt Vonnegut so wonderfully concluded, "Let's all get up and move around a bit…

or at least dance."