What if?

That's the question I found asking myself this Saturday and the whole day of Sunday. It is a question of regret that you might have experienced yourself. This time around, it was due to inaction – I had the perfect opportunity to ask someone out for a coffee but I did not act on it.

Maybe it was good to keep it that way. The interaction leading up to that point was a good display of a no-small-talk discussion and was pure. I really enjoyed it. Not acting on it leaves this interaction as perfect. That being said, it was not my reasoning at that moment. I think my inaction might have been due to reverence or fear of rejection. Either way, it did not happen.

Having considered it for more than 24 hours I have to argue that action could have only rendered the situation more interesting. The interaction was indeed very natural thus offering to pay for a coffee would have been the first somewhat deliberate step. Choosing to walk away was also a deliberate step.

I still sometimes struggle to understand that not choosing is a choice in itself. At the given moment it feels like I am simply postponing the choice but that is not the case. Inaction is also a type of action. Unfortunately, it seems that I am only capable of noticing my fallacy retrospectively.

At this point, all I have left is a memory of the ideal discussion and the first name of the person. Nothing else. In a way, it is a rather romantic way to remember the interaction since I have no possible way of reconnecting with her.

This Week's Suggestions:

🎬 What makes something "Kafkaesque"?:

Ever wondered why Kafkaesque has become a word? I have. That's why I clicked on the video in the first place. Having read a few of Kafka's short stories I could understand the video even better. That being said it was not necessary context to understand the video!

🎶 "Kathleen" by Catfish and the Bottlemen:

I found this song about a year ago. I find it to be a good fit for this piece of writing. It has a lovely hook: "I've gotta give it to you, you give me problems."

That's it for this week!