Planning what to wear today, I saw this morning a pair of trousers I bought this summer. Somehow, I spent most of the summer in Bermuda shorts, so I haven't had an opportunity to wear them. Excellent, I thought, let me wear these new, comfortable, light jeans.
At lunch, I opted for a portion of various salads. I decided to add some Tabasco. Here in Switzerland food is not as spicy as we usually have it in the Balkans so I often add some spices. But, the cup left in my hand while the bottle felt on the floor, spilling the sauce all the way down my trousers.
My colleague told me that it would leave a trace on my jeans as Tabasco is so strong. I soaked the trousers in water - let's hope I shall manage to avoid any long-term damage.
I got to thinking: whoever who used the bottle before me didn't care much if he or she left it closed or open. Really. Why bother? Who would think that an open bottle of Tabasco could create such damage. That person will never know the consequences of that small inconsiderate action. Well, yes, one pair of trousers is not a big loss, however nice they are. Even if I found out who did it, I would not be very angry.
We can't even dream about the problems we can create by not doing something. The consequences of our actions can be tragic. I remember cases when people missed an exit on the highway and then, driving backwards, caused an accident which killed several people. Who knows how many forest fires started with a discarded cigarette?
In her book "The Cairo House" Samia Serageldin wrote (my translation from Serbian):
Do we realise that at the moment when we jump into water that the waves we create can reach even the opposite shore?
Let me add to her thought: When we jump into water, an obvious consequence can be water in someone else's face. That is what we shall see immediately. We will be ashamed, apologise or or maybe ignore it like some arrogant people would do. But, we would never even suspect that the wave we created may have destroy a sandcastle someone had built on the other shore or frighten a fish that was just about to bite a fly on the hook of a passionate fisherman.
So what can we do then? We can't do much to prevent unwanted situations in which we shall suffer because of an accidental mistake someone else made. But we can certainly try to avoid doing something that can effect others.
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Razmišljajući šta ću da obučem, jutros u ormanu ugledah farmerke koje sam kupio tokom leta. Nekako sam stalno bio u bermudama, te do danas nisam stigao da ih obučem. Sjajno - eto prilike da se ponovim. Ugodne i lake, prijale su mi.
Za ručak, uzevši omanju porciju raznoraznih salata otidoh da na sve pospem malo tabasko sosa. Ovde u Švajcarskoj hrana nije začinjena po našem ukusu pa se često trudim da dodam malo žestine. Uhvativši bočicu, u ruci mi osta samo zatvarač dok sos polete na pod, obilno mi usput poprskavši nogavicu celom dužinom.
Koleginica mi reče da od farmerki najverovatnije neće biti mnogo vajde jer je tabasko vrlo jak i zasigurno će ostaviti trag. Potopio sam ih - nadam se ipak.
Razmišljam: onaj ko je pre mene koristio sos nije mnogo mario da li ga je ostavio otvorenim ili ne. Realno, zašto bih. Ko bi mogao da pomisli da nezatvorena bočica sosa nekome može da pričini ikakvu štetu. Taj neko nikada neće saznati kakvu posledicu je izazvao. A ni jedne farmerke nisu neka šteta, koliko god bile lepe. I da znam ko je krivac, ne bih mogao da se mnogo ljutim na njega ili nju.
Ni ne sanjamo koliko puta je jedna naizgled beznačajna stvar koju smo učinili izazvala posledica. One mogu biti mnogo gore, ponekad katastrofalne. Sećam se slučajeva kada su vozači promašili izlaz na autoputu, a onda suludom vožnjom unazad prouzrokovali sudare sa tragičnim posledicama. Ko zna koliko je požara izazvao nemarno bačen opušak.
U knjizi "Kuća u Kairu", Samija Sarageldin napisala je:
Da li ikada shvatamo, u trenutku kada skačemo u vodu, da se talasi koje napravimo mogu proširiti čak do suprotne obale?
Da malo proširim njenu misao: Kad skočimo u vodu očigledna loša posledica tog čina može biti da nekoga poprskamo. To ćemo odmah videti - posramiti se, izviniti, ili jednostavno ostati bahati kao što neki jesu. No, ni slutiti nećemo da talas koji smo napravili može nekome na drugoj obali porušiti zamak od peska ili oterati ribu koja se upravo spremala da zagrize mamac.
Šta onda možemo da uradimo? Svakako, ne mnogo da predupredimo neželjene situacije u kojima ćemo trpeti zbog nečije slučajne greške. Ali ono što sigurno možemo je da pokušamo da ne brinemo samo o sebi i da ne učinimo nešto što će drugima naneti neželjene posledice.