I was studying in Goa back then, a time when Hippies drove caravans and mobile homes from as far as Germany to Goa and pitched camp on a cliff overlooking the sea in Little Vagator, Anjuna, Goa. I first met Reinhard at my cousin restaurant, 'Alcove', where i used to wait tables on my days off from college. It was his 5th trip to Goa in his old but well maintained Mercedes truck, which he had modified and designed into a mobile home. We connected over our similar music likes and thoughts about the universe, the sun, moon and stars. It was Reinhard who took me on my first Hippie trail and i got exposed to the magic of nature, the solace in star gazing and the simple pleasures of life like camping on a beach, learning to mix music, talking about life and living,eating different cuisines and marvelling over functioning of the human mind.
I remember the the early morning when i would ride over to Anjuna to have breakfast with him and he would sit with his pouch of tobacco and smoking paper and expertly role a cigarette. never once did he offer me a drag, and when i did ask him once if i could roll one, he simply stated that 'you do know that this is a bad habit and can eventually kill you'. I tried it, didn't like it, it didn't appeal to me in anyway. If there were other ways to get high, i would definitely find those ways, cause nicotine surely didn't do the trick. So i settled down to rolling those cigarettes for him .
Over the months , we spoke about marijuana, hashish, psychedelics, snake bites and other ways that the works used to get high. I remember how we would discuss why people would want to use substances to get high and we figured or some the reason was purely fun, for others it was to escape reality, the stress and troubles of the worlds, for some it was just peer pressure and the need to fit in and for some it was just out of boredom or depression, we did also talk about the type who wanted to experience stuff just out of curiosity and innocence.
Reinhard finally drove back and st up camp in Andalusia, Spain for a couple of years, before heading back to Germany. He always had a dream to right a book about his ideas and philosophy about the creation of the universe.
A few months ago, Reinhard called me up to tell me that he was diagnosed with lung cancer.Nothing could be done, and he chose not to undergo chemotherapy when his doctors told him it could not guarantee a complete recovery. He told me about how we was leaving it all up to nature to take its course and said he hoped that i not gotten into the habit of smoking tobacco. He spoke about how agonizing it was for such beautiful life to be wasted because of a habit. although he was excited about discovering a new world on the other side. That was Reinhard, always happy, peaceful, generous, patient and extremely positive about everything in life.
Since I'm completely involved in the field of nutrition and cancer, i probed Reinhard with questions like how could he link the cancer to smoking? What if it was pollution, or maybe just radon levels in some place he had been for too long.
His answer was simple. Anyone can get cancer. You don't have to have a bad habit. You could just have a weak immune system, which is not strong enough to fight out germs, toxins, viruses. And no matter how healthy you are, you live in a world where the person smoking next to you is enough to inject over a thousand carcinogens into your lungs. We live in a world where we have no control over the kind of food we eat ( pesticides), the air we breathe or the water we drink.
All this means only one thing. We have to work harder to improve our lifestyles and make our immune systems stronger. As crime gets more sophisticated, the law needs to keep abreast y upgrading and changing to the latest technologies in order to offer protection. Apply this same principle to the human body.
If there was anything Reinhard regretted in his action packed life, it was smoking tobacco. He was certain that tobacco was the cause of his cancer.
Reinhard died a month ago, another victim to cancer, another end of a beautiful life.
We need to ask ourselves is it worth it in the end. It's a difficult decision. Yes, if you take it, your social life will suffer. Your friends who smoke tend to either force you to start again, or slowly drift away, unless you have good friends who actually see the reason you make this decision, respect it and support you right thru your journey of quitting.
It's ironic how a habit like smoking can destroy your entire, life, your career, devastate your family and loved ones. I am exposed to business tycoons and CEOS earning millions and puffing on a ciggy while they plan strategies for the next huge business move,,,,hmmmm,,,
Maybe you will be lucky and escape every sickness while you puff on one at the age of 92 and maybe you won't. Numbers and stats sure seen to tip over into the ' won't direction. I guess the choice is ours and the kind of stand we take in society to support and assertively compel people to kick the butt is of prime importance.
Another way of giving back to society is encouraging and actually helping people get of smoking. It's a great feeling when you are actually able to do this successfully.You life is worth so much more than just a cigarette.
No comments:
Post a Comment