CHATTING ABOUT REINCARNATION WITH THE DENTIST

 

Today I had an appointment to clean my not so perfect teeth; the prescription is four annual cleanings, and since the hygienist was on vacation I was seen by Dr. S., an excellent dentist.

"When we come back to life, I as a dentist and you as a patient, I will prescribe orthodontics to straighten your teeth," my dentist commented.”

After a brief and respectful silence, I decided to make known my opinion on the subject.

“It's true that I would definitely need orthodontics -I said.- The problem is that the idea of coming back to life doesn't appeal to me.

-¿Wouldn't you like to live again?

-¿Who would want to return to this life?”

I remember reading a few years ago on the internet, the comment of someone who thought that life had to have an encore. Despite this not being a very deep thought, I became obsessed by it for several weeks. I told myself that perhaps such an individual had had a special life, similar to the straight line that appears on the monitor when the patient has already left this world. Or perhaps I was an insatiable soul who had not been able to appreciate all the good things that life had offered me. Many years have passed since the day I read that strange statement, and the incredible thing is that I still think the same thing: reincarnation is not something I look forward to. The difference is that even though I have lived a fortunate life, now I have a clearer view of why existence appears to me to be so ruthless. For example, today for me was a day like any other: quiet, sunny, without unpaid debts, nor winds or tides of any kind. And yet, far away, a missile decimated a family of ten people, including seven children; and thirteen young soldiers lost their lives because a terrorist thought that that was the right thing to do. But that's not all: a gigantic hurricane swept through the homes and belongings of thousands of victims, who are now without refuge. It is true that today fate did not reach me with its accurate spear, but ¿my fellowmen? ¿ How can I stop thinking about them?

"No, Doctor, I am not coming back because this life, no matter how you look at it, means only suffering.