No Reaction to every Action
"When you can't control what's happening, challenge yourself to control how you respond to what's happening. That's where your power is."- Unknown.
Recently I was very disturbed by a remark made by a senior professional.What was bothering me was the fact that I had not replied back at the very moment.What had stopped me-seniority, respect,manners or the decorum of workplace.When I expressed my discomfort to my Mentor ,he explained and cleared my thought process with a beautiful example of Lord Shiva.Lord Shiva had to drink poison at the time of Samudramanthan (Churning of the ocean) to save the world.So much to learn from this example.
In daily life,I find myself in situations where I am not in agreement with people or where I get hurt but its not always possible or feasible to react then and there.Often people who bother us by their action or words may belong to our close circle or inner circle or may be are our colleagues at workplaces.Knowingly unknowingly people tend to behave in unexpected manner or not as per our desired way.Their opinions,views,body language may at some point hurt or disappoint us.In such situations is reacting the only option??
Equal reaction to every action is and cannot be the practical solution in real life.
We all human beings are bound by certain norms if we have to live in this society and maintain the decorum and peace.If somebody has disturbed the aura it doesn't mean that by reacting sharply or taking revenge through words or actions, we will win over the situation or person. In fact most of the times it's futile.
Relationships get disturbed and personal equations may change for life time.It may add to negativity in surroundings and give unnecessary opportunity to people around for discussion.By adopting a more peaceful approach we may control the damage in some or other way.Say for example if two elders in family indulge in disagreement and fight, naturally their families and children will suffer.They will maintain a distance to avoid conflict in future.Similarly if in an organisation two seniors don't work in sync and engage in disagreements on and off ,it will disturb the systems and people around connected to both of them may not be able to work properly.Reacting instantly may create a series of action and reactions.Whether in personal or professional lives, maintaining calm and choosing our response is of utmost importance.
What is required is that when one person misbehaves or is rude or loses control the other member like Shiva has to swallow the anger and maintain the composure and refrain from reacting.Later when the situation has normalised the disagreements or viewpoints can be discussed in private if possible.
Friends this may seem to be difficult and impractical.It may also give rise to feeling of being oppressed.But being tolerant really pays to save the relation,work,and peace around .
This is noway means ,we accept what is wrong or what is unacceptable as per our principles.This just means keeping calm in situations where relationships or social obligations are important.This can save a lot of positive energy as well as the other person would also get a chance to express his view point behind such behavior if required.Not necessarily always the intention may be bad.It may be coming out of wrong impressions or incomplete information.Not reacting gives a scope for discussion and expression of disagreement in more peaceful and fruitful manner.
We cannot control what others say or how others behave but we can definitely control our reactions and maintain our positive aura and composure of mind.
"Our reaction to a situation literally has the power to change the situation itself."-Unknown
