'The Perception'

The wind swept away the green leaves in a fuzzy direction, like almost every evening of June.  Discarded masks and bottles of antiseptics on the ground gave the impression of a movie scene that passed and fled to the unknown. But some actors are still there. Every evening around 19:00 o’ clock, he used to be there. He stood there alone with or without his thoughts. Every single day of the week. It’s amazing how many thoughts per minute can a mind have just by standing still at a place waiting and waiting and waiting.  This day was somehow different…

Suddenly a figure emerged on the other side of the road. A woman dressed in a green full body suit just passed by. She walked next to the green plant and became one with it. Then she disappeared vaguely in the green landscape. Sometimes the images that surround us are a matter of mind perception. The tall thin man with the ponytail surprisingly showed up. This time, he was wearing short beige pants slightly worn and a T-shirt with the inscription 'I feel love’. The Asian man greeted him with a smile. The ‘ponytail’ man greeted back and started talking like he had notes somewhere on him from a book.  - ‘We always have to face a drama in life. But you have more perception now…you know, you always have a drama in life, you can’t avoid drama, no person in this life can avoid drama. But you have to accept it…’.  The ponytail man spoke passionately, almost like a philosopher. Could he have been one?... At our times…difficult to find one. His poor sandals described his lifestyle. His backpack on his shoulders proved hıs bohemian way of life. Who knows, he may have been a philosopher in Socrates’ time. But today, perhaps he is just a philosopher surrendering to conventional paths…  Every single day. Perhaps he finds this subordination to conventional obligations each day of the week, even more philosophical. It’s a matter of perception, he said.  -‘Every human being has gone through all sorts of existential thoughts during quarantine. It is now easy to admit that we all have a kind of drama in our lives that is blocking us. 

The Asian short man looked at him questioningly, without speaking. Who knows what he's thinking now. He worked so many hours at the restaurant that he couldn’t submit himself to any kind of philosophical conversation with a stranger. Polite enough, he just smiled waiting for the time to pass. He was used at waiting and waiting and waiting…This time was different though. Surprisingly he felt like talking with the poor ‘philosopher’. He could spare a few minutes for a brief conversation. Then he said in his broken English - ‘it is somehow necessary to see the negative points first and then find the positive ones. I almost lost my job because of the quarantine and now I have a job again, so I feel blessed to have a little drama in life sometimes. We all need to have negative and positive things in life. That’s how we appreciate life. In my culture appreciation is everything.’  He then remembered that it was time to retake those English classes he had left in the middle 3 months ago…  He realized that the ‘philosopher’ liked to talk theoretically but never really had a drama in his life… How strange. The Asian man continued                -‘in order to have a drama in life, you need to change a current situation in your life. Drama does not come while you are in the same condition all day long, pretending to be doing something important. You have to fight for it.’ These words were loud enough for the philosopher's sensitive ears. But everyone is entitled to express his opinion freely according to his perception. 

The woman in the green full body suit emerged again, talking on her cell phone in a voice like the tweet of a tiny bird. Actually her cell phone was right in front of her eyes and she was talking loudly holding her car keys.  Probably she was waiting for someone. The Asian man looked at her again and realised that from the other side of the road she looked so much younger, but now being so close to him, she looked like an old woman with a young voice…Our perception becomes larger from a closer distance. And anyway, the mask hid half of her face. 

He used to be there, every single day except the weekends. It was a habit that he could not avoid. Different sorts of people passed by. Some of them talked, some of them were silent. He had to admit to himself that guys like the ‘philosopher’ could be a chance to get rid of the monotony of the moment. Not all times are the same.

Τhe ‘philosopher’  does not care about being understood. Maybe he needed nobody to understand anything at all.  Let everyone understand what they want to understand. Do we always need to say the question ‘what does the poet need to convey?’ Maybe the poet, or in this case the ‘philosopher’ needs not to convey anything. Or maybe he just needs to convey that the perception of what is negative or positive is in our own minds.  

Suddenly, he pulls out an orange wallet. He's looking for something in his wallet. – where is it? I just had it a minute ago.  He pulls out a piece of paper, then continues to search. He searches in his backpack. Then he searches in his pockets ...Nothing, its gone…The bus is approaching and his agony becomes higher….  The Asian man took out of his pocket a ticket and gave it to him. - Now, you just had a small drama in this moment too…  the Asian man said with a smile.  The ‘philosopher gets the ticket and gets on the bus. He greets the Asian man and disappears. Another day is gone.