I was supposed to get some lunch, but I decided to go out for a walk instead. In the end, I decided I might as well skip lunch altogether. Why? Because I can if I want to.
I went out in the bitter cold, the sky a snowless creamy white, and I walked all the way to the nearest shopping mall to have a look at whatever stationary items they had there. They had next to nothing except bloody Christmas cards everywhere. Glittering raindeers, snowmen and whatnot. Crowds of people were gathered mostly around those Christmas items and decorations, their trolleys filled with such junk they will only use once and then bury in some cupboard. And that junk is expensive, too! A stupid candle with the face of an old bearded man suddenly costs 10 times its real value - just because, guess what, it's for Christmas. Wait till the day after the celebration, and all that junk will cost half what it does today... I guess that says it all.
I'm in a somber mood - can you tell?
As I was walking I had all these thoughts dancing in my head, making me oblivious to everything that surrounds me. That leads to some problems at times, as I will forget to stop at a green light, for instance, and I've lost count how many times a car narrowly escaped hitting me in the process. Everytime that happens, my heart jumps in my chest just as I hear the loud, angry horn of the car, and I answer with the most scornful of glares back at the driver.
Anyway, as I was walking, an odd thought occurred to me: what if I was facing a lion right now at this very minute - what would I do? I told myself it was a very odd thought to have, and how the hell did it come to mind in the first place? I followed the thread of thoughts back to its source and realised my mind had been reflecting on people in the street first. I had been thinking about the time I had advised a friend to watch Appocalypto, and when I asked him what he thought of it, all he could say was 'it was so violent and bloody...'
That memory of the conversation led me to look around me at the people in smart suits everywhere coming out from the tube station in masses. I suddenly wished I would have replied that friend that at least the savages in that movie looked the part of what they actually were: cruel savages. At least you knew that when they didn't like you they just grabbed their axe and you would simply lose your head. End of story.
What has changed in the world? Only appearances. The same savages are everywhere, only their wicked ways are hidden under the cover of smart suits and expensive leather briefcases. They no longer use machetes to kill you on the spot, instead they kill you in the slowest way possible by poisoning your whole existence on Earth.
They no longer say 'me kill you, me stronger, you weakling, me going to eat you', they use complex prose and Shakespearian words instead. Remove such layers of appearances, and the base is exactly the same.
So as I was thinking about all this, the thought 'what if I was facing a lion right now at this very minute - what would I do?' occurred to me.
Well, if I was facing a lion right now at this very minute, I would hide at once from it because I know full well that I'm weaker than the lion and it would only make sense for it to jump me to eat me if I were to linger about. That's what I replied to myself, anyway. I would hide away from its grip and then outsmart him with my wits and brains. After all, brains and wits were always mankind's main 'weapon' of survival in nature.
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