A BROKEN IDLI

You must be wondering what I am talking about. This is not just a regular post but something I thought I should share. The other day while I was travelling, I decided to eat something before boarding the flight. Went to the South Indian food corner and ordered a plate of idli. The gentleman who was in the queue before me ordered the same. After receiving the token we both went to the section of self service to take our individual plate of idlis.

In a minute suddenly heard a shout from the gentleman. “How dare you give me this broken idli? You don’t have any decency? Is this the way you serve here?” The rudeness and the hate in his voice was so distinct that the poor fellow serving the idlis went blank for a few seconds.

At that time, I offered to take the served plate (with a single broken idli as it was perfectly fresh and so soft) and he got a new serving.

A thank you with a smile – a simple gesture needed to bring a smile on someone’s face.

After that I started wondering was it really necessary for that gentleman to react like that to that minor incident. Practically, the idli was so soft that a corner (not even in half) of it broke while picking up with the tongs.

At any sudden situation do you ‘react‘ or ‘respond‘? If the situation doesn’t prick your so called satisfaction buds, is it justified always to react and make it worse?

Not at all! The only outcome is you end up losing your peace of mind and that of others’ too. Most situations in life need a response from us, not ‘reaction‘.

Let us see what exactly the difference is –

We react to something on the heat of the moment, mostly reflex action which in most cases end up making things worse. Whereas when we respond, we do so to the living being after analyzing about the situation for a moment. It helps to analyze and rethink on what could be said or done. This not only helps in rationalizing the situation but also not hurt someone else or even oneself.

In our surroundings in every day life, we just need observe ourselves how many times we react and how many we respond to a particular situation. This small step is a big first step towards becoming a better person each day and everyday!

Happy Life