Let's Just Assume I Don't Exist

Not too long ago, I was born. On the day of this writing, it would be a little over 26 years ago. I took the biggest risk of my life, without my express consent of course: of being alive. I am still taking that risk every single day – for nearly 10,000 days since then. I might have a little over 20,000 days in this world, if I live long enough to get to the age of my elders when they passed away. Half of my time is done.

I am eager to experience the latter half. It sounds promising, exciting and interesting. It is full or risks. Of all the 20,000 days that I could die on, with each passing day, the odds gang up on me. Just by being alive, I risk getting killed every day - by a freak accident, disease, mistake - just about anything.

What is life without risks? It ceases to exist. In all form.

So, what is life? To me, it is about experiences.

Experiences range from small doses like the feel of water on tired feet to much more elaborate ones on the lines of soaking in beauty of the land you've travelled thousands of kilometers to see. Enjoying the different tastes of food cooked by different people, listening to various accents and trying to hold a conversation with someone who doesn't share any language with you, the great feeling when you rest your back after a long day, making a fool out of yourself for a petty reason… every experience has it's place. This blog is intended to record the experiences so I can refer back to them later.

This is partly newfound knowledge. I used to enjoy being midway between all extremes. Somehow, as a teenager I was influenced to absolutely shun any form of extremism in practical life. I wanted to be a monk. I nearly succeeded. My thoughts have had a tinge of trying out wacky things, but actions never translated to going over the edge. The person who I am, does not exist anymore. It is the person I used to be. I don't exist.

I do exist, in a new form though. I am now biased — towards enjoying the good things in life, towards saying what I really feel like, towards being the best I can be instead of being the average human being.

I am a biased monk.