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 doing 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 a 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.
It’s 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, it’s 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...
-- Author Unknown
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