Riding in the back seat at night while someone else drives is a rare kind of quiet. Let your head wander.

Being carried somewhere without having to steer is an unusual state, and your head knows it. Nothing to monitor, nowhere to be yet, and the road noise covers conversation, so attention goes slack in a way it rarely does. That slackness is where connections get made between things you had been keeping in separate boxes.

Leave the phone in your pocket next time you are a passenger at night. Watch the lights, let your mind go where it wants, resist the urge to make it productive. Some of it will be worth writing down later, and some was just nice.