The Frantic Psychology of Rush Hours

 Tonight, I went home earlier than usual to handle some work-related tasks and editing, and for the first time in a long time, I experienced "rush hour" on a subway. Normally, I don't go straight home from work at all, due to other commitments I have which usually happen either in the library or in the meditation hall. Because it had been such a long time since I had done so, getting on the congested subway on the way to Finch Subway Station felt very strange for me tonight. I also felt compelled to walk home rather than take the bus back home, and I still felt uneasy until I made a detour into a quiet sidestreet. It was then (and perhaps only then) when I could experience my own solitude as a kind of relief from the pressures of the rushing hours.
   While I was on the subway, I had this reflection: between the hours of 5 pm and 7 pm (approximately), there seems to be a frantic rush for everyone to get home from work at about the same time. I feel as though many of the people who do this might benefit from not trying to rush home too fast. However, after a long day at work, perhaps the prospect of home or a bed seem super-sweet. My point, however, is: is it worth it to go home early and, in doing so, face the rush itself? Is it really "home" one goes to, if the way home is through such busyness, and such desire to get somewhere?
   I have found that my life seems to work most effectively when I am in no rush whatsoever to get home: when I dawdle, and when I am able to draw energy from places where things are not so rushed. What is more tiring: waiting in a rush hour for a bus that takes one home before 8 pm, or deciding to do a detour by attending a social event or reading a book in the library, or going for a walk or a run? I believe that the latter are less tiring, because they are done in contexts where people are engaging in something for its own sake (socializing, reading, walking, running, etc.) without this idea that they need to get somewhere fast or be settled in a certain place by a certain time. Home, yes, is a compelling idea, because it has spiritual meanings, and there is a sense of rest and repose that comes from even the abstract concept of home. However, I begin to doubt that simply rushing home after work is going to make people feel refreshed and regenerated. I have found that for myself, there is a need for a space in between work and home, where there is activity without urgency; movement without destiny; work without compulsion. And I do believe it's a good idea if everyone find that certain space for themselves, before they can conclude that going home after work is the only way to energize or rest the mind and body.