Respond Don't React

Is the title of today's inspirational message.

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.