Thursday, July 22, 2010

Reaction / Response



Suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s response to all the glory that was spoken about it! She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.
 
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.
 
I realized even in my case then , it is not the shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me, but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. Its not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, its my reaction to the problem that hurts me.
 
Lessons learnt from the story:
 
I understood, I should not react in life.
 
 I should always respond.
 
 The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
 
 Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual

4 comments:

Hemantha Lakshmi said...

Learnt another lesson :)

Deepthi said...

This is such an everyday incident that has been used to so beautifully bring home a point. While I agree with what is stated here, I would also think that reaction plays a very important part in our responses. If there was no rection there would be no response. It is not the reaction itself but the quality of reaction that is important. It is the control you have over yourself that determines this reaction. The more in control of yourself you are, your reaction will be instinctive and correct.

Gandharv said...

@ Deepthi : Well said :)

AnandG said...

Ha Ha good one!! Every action conveys thought. Every action has an internal message, we can get it only if we have the ability to analyze the action and bring it out.