Truth.
Responding Vs Reacting
Author: Kishore Thampi
An old Japanese tale goes like this. A belligerent samurai once challenged a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell. But the monk replied with scorn, “You’re nothing but a ruffian – I can’t waste my time with the likes of you!” His very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and pulled his sword from his scabbard and yelled, “I could kill you for your impertinence.” “That,” the monk calmly replied, “is hell”.Startled at seeing the truth in what the master pointed out, the samurai calmed down, sheathed his sword, and bowed thanking the monk for the insight. “And that,” said the monk, “is heaven.”
Whenever we encounter unsettling situations in our life, we can deal with it in two different ways. We can either respond or react to it. A reaction is instinctive and often instantaneous. As human beings, we tend to react while giving little or no thought to the actual circumstances. Responding, on the other hand, involves an actual assessment of the situation so that we can make an informed decision about how best to proceed, based on the particular circumstances that we are faced with. As the Zen master explained above, we can either choose to live in heaven or hell. Living in heaven is all about respecting and valuing those around us and having a goal that is about always aiming to project what we ourselves want to receive. It is all about responding and not reacting.
Life is ten percent what happens to us and ninety percent how we respond to it.
The legendary Mark Twain was once confronted by a big burly guy in a narrow stairway. When they both reached midway, the big guy retorted loudly “I don’t give way to fools”. Mark Twain just looked at him for a moment, walked all the way back and said, “But I do”. There is a huge difference between respondingand reacting. Leaders who inspire and motivate others understand the distinction between these actions and are able to respond as opposed to react to difficult or unpleasant situations. If Mahatma Gandhi had reacted when he was thrown out of the train in South Africa, our history would have been different. But he rather responded to the situation which helped in building his credibility as a powerful leader, who later went on to inspire and motivate millions of people world over.
More than the problem , it is always our reaction to the problem which hurts us more. It is not the irate customer that is disturbing, but rather our inability to handle the disturbance caused by the customer. It is not the traffic jam that is disturbing but rather our inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam. Between the stimuli and the response, if we can use the gap to think and contemplate, then we may be able to respond thoughtfully.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/responding-vs-reacting-2655532.html
"This is the way of peace:
Overcome evil with good,
and falsehood with truth,
and hatred with love."
Overcome evil with good,
and falsehood with truth,
and hatred with love."
— Peace Pilgrim
TED talk of the day: “Coding a better government”
Can government be run like the Internet, permissionless and open? Coder and activist Jennifer Pahlka believes it can — and that apps, built quickly and cheaply, are a powerful new way to connect citizens to their governments — and their neighbors.
"Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is."
—
-Rick Santorum urging voters in Mississippi to trust him and calling climate science bogus. (via officialssay)
Please, someone make it so Santorum repeats exactly this to a scientist. Please, please, I’ll do anything to make this happen.
(via mohandasgandhi)
That might be the stupidest fucking thing I have ever read.
(via thegirlwiththefinchertattoo)
(via stfuconservatives)
"There are people who were gay and lived the gay lifestyle and aren’t anymore. I don’t know if that’s the similar situation or that’s the case for anyone that’s black. It’s a behavioral issue as opposed to a color of the skin issue, and that’s the diff for serving in the military."
—
Rick Santorum has never seen a black person irl (via redsuspenders)
im reading words but i don’t know what they are trying to say
(via yeezysdisciple)
Wut.
(via kyssthis16)
I hope Rick Santorum eats a bag of dicks.
(via marmarsplainingitall)
I want so many bad things to happen to him. I don’t even care. SO MANY BAD THINGS.
(via face-down-asgard-up)
i keep reading it and it’s like i put my brain in a blender.
(via kanyelujah)
(via stfuconservatives)
“The radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness.”—
Rick Santorum (via ricksantorum-2012)
WE SUCCEEDED??!?!?! :)
(Source: rachelrantsandschtuff, via stfuconservatives)
So away crowds are chanting “overrated” to Jeremy Lin now
as though he wasn’t on the bench making shit money or playing in the D-league not more than 18 games ago before single-handedly reviving interest in professional basketball during a strike-shortened season while averaging around 19 points and eight assists per game and still making shit money for it, by the way.
Go fuck yourselves.
