REALITY BITES

 

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

 

I put my book on the table cause my eyes were fixed on the forearm of the young guy at the table in front of mine. He grimly responsed my reading, my neck was twisted to the left and my lips formed the words which were hardly to read as a result of the weird calligraphy adopted from Microsoft-Word. I know this famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi, so I was able to end the sentence in my head to take my eyes of him before I might die today.
As I assumed to his angry views that he isn't up to learn something from me or would like to teach me some, I presupposed that he also did not employed non-violent civil disobedience as a nationwide campaign for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, and above all for achieving Swaraj—the independence of India from British domination by risking his life due to starving himself to alarming weight. I asked myself what might be his view on life, what induced the wish to show others a tattoo which invites to live a life on the edge while being open minded for new input? His computer game flickert on the screen of his MacBook. The batteling giants, beasts and undead gave me no hint to his interpretation of my question. As long as he would look happy by playing, I thought, I might find the easy answer: do what makes you happy. His angry snorts let me conclude that the answer might be: do what entertains you.
My book ended. I closed the book and my hand stroked the hardcover. Am I satisfied? Did it entertain me? It wasn't the best book I have read. I did not regret to spend my time on it but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody either. My coffee was empty, my schedule as well. I took a few minutes more to relax in the sun, the clicking mouse noises settled with the wind and bird chirp. What would I do different with the knowledge that I die tomorrow? The answer was simple, nothing special. The problem was not in the present, of cause, I could bath in Champagne, kiss the girl I always wanted to be close to without asking for permission and plant some sunflowers in the city center. But would that be satisfying? I guessed the answer in the past. Do I regret something? I remembered another quote:

 

“Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.”
- Louise Erdrich

 

I became aware that happiness is a goal, entertainment is the medium, risks are a need and regrets are the mirror of your stigmas. To minimize these regrets leads the path to live a life of decicions "that our death brings no pleasure on the world." - John Steinbeck
But shall I propose him to tattoo this quote on the other forearm? It might be to long.
The waitress brings me a newspaper. It is written in Spanish and full of regional Peruvian news. I asked her to sit down for a little chat. She tells me about her uncles, how they fought in the last rebellion and won nothing but to have tried. She has to go on and leaves the table by asking my neighbour for his wishes. His Spanish is miserable but he gets his next coffee. I want to tell him "Minimize your regrets", but what do I really know about him. I know that he missed a chance to learn and hope that the rest of his and my day is interesting enough to comply with his demanding forearm.