It’s no big secret that we live in an extroverted world that never stops making noise. It’s all around us: loud traffic, constant talking, television and radio – and, let’s not forget, the biggest and perhaps most menacing source of loudness – our nagging thoughts.
But talking about communication specifically, did you know that Gyles Daubeney Brandreth, an English broadcaster, writer, and former politician, actually came up with an estimated number of words one would presumably speak in a lifetime? Well, the number is 860,341,500.
Let’s assume, give or take, this would be the case for most of us – surely, we’d need to catch a little break every once in a while? But, as it turns out, even a 10-day silent retreat in India can’t knock the “human” out of us.
More info: Reddit
A French novelist once said: “Revenge is a dish best served cold”
Image credits: Treefort Music Fest (not the actual photo)
“Cut in front of me in the dinner queue? I hope you like ants…” – this Redditor turned to one of platform’s most revengeful communities to tell a tale about his retaliation against a queue-jumper during a 10-day silent meditation retreat in India. The post managed to garner 5.5K upvotes as well as 211 comments praising the person’s exceptional imagination.
Man gets petty revenge on fellow meditator by dousing his footwear with syrup in an ant-infested retreat center
Image source: horatio_winklebottom
The man began his post by revealing that several years ago, when he was traveling in India, he decided to give a silent meditation retreat a go.
The retreat itself was located in the middle of nowhere and was also home to a huge colony of “the biggest and fiercest” ants – however, as it was a Buddhist retreat, no steps were taken to get rid of the insects despite the fact that they were incredibly prevalent.
Apparently, it was so bad that when you turned on a faucet, ants would emerge before the water.
While traveling in India, the guy decided to try a 10-day silent retreat – however, the location was also home to a large colony of ants
Image source: horatio_winklebottom
A few days in, however, while waiting for their evening meal, another meditator thought it was his duty to cut in front of him, tragically ruining the man’s hard-won peace. In fact, the queue-jumper had the guts to smirk since he knew he wouldn’t be called out on it.
Needless to say, the author of the post was furious, so furious that it was all he could think about during practices, but luckily, his vengeance plan came to him rather quickly.
A few days in, a nasty queue-jumper happened to ruin the man’s hard-earned “tranquility”
Image source: horatio_winklebottom
The next day, as he was brewing himself a cup of chai, the man took a sizeable amount of sugar, which he subsequently put into a half-full water bottle to make syrup.
Prior to the next meditation, the author deliberately waited to be last in line. Their flip-flops had to be taken off anytime they entered the building; thus, he made sure to mark his enemy’s shoes as he took them off so that he could later cover them in that self-made condiment.
He pocketed a handful of sugar and poured it into a half-full water bottle to make syrup to use in his retaliation plan
Image source: horatio_winklebottom
After a few hours of peaceful meditation, it was time to leave the building.
Naturally, some doubts occurred, making the guy wonder whether his plan had failed miserably; yet karma was in his favor. The queue-jumper’s flip-flops were now covered in angry, sugar-fueled ants.
As a matter of fact, the plan was so successful that the guy broke his vow of silence – however, he spoke in Hindi, so we’ll never know what was actually said.
The author coated his enemy’s flip-flops with syrup before entering the building, triggering an ant attack
Image source: horatio_winklebottom
After composing himself, the man’s rival attempted to pick up a flip-flop, but got defeated by the insects and their “massive jaws.” Eventually, he found a stick to try to hook his footwear with, but that plan also failed.
And provoking the queue-jumper to break his vow of silence
Image credits: Fractality (not the actual photo)
The fellow meditator departed barefoot and, presumably, frightened; meanwhile, the author of the post got his well-deserved victory and went back to healing.
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