Don't React

Newton's Third law of motion states that “For every action there is an equal & opposite reaction". Same is true for human reflexes & reactions to different situations & events. Reflex action is the instantaneous reaction of our body to an external stimulus. eg If we touch something hot, we pull back our hand, this is the reflex to heat that tells our hands to retract from the hot surface. Same thing applies to humans too. If we hold the hot plate too long, we will only get burns on our hands. Similarly we should not react unthinkably when in hot circumstances. We should avoid reacting instinctively, without a second thought.

Alternatively we lose our nerve to unbalances situations, & without paying heed to the aftermath, we blind dive into the mud pool. We react to people's comments vociferously & instinctively. In the entire process we hurt others brutally, sometimes more disheartening than the initial assault on us. These hurts are irreparable, & strain healthy relationships in a split second. It happens so spontaneously that before you even know it is all over. The damage is done, the bitterness is spread, and the relationship becomes venomous.

To avert such deadlock situations, the things that people say against us, in a sarcastic & hurting way, should not be taken to heart. There may be 1000 things that people may say to us in a day, if we start losing heart over each one of them, we would soon go into a cardiac arrest. Instead we should laugh it over. We should leverage our selves to such a height that the taunts & sarcasm, is of no concern to us. If someone talks derogatory of us, we usually keep on thinking of it, for hours all together, losing our sleep over it. Our mood is spoilt, & the mind + body gets stuck in a vicious circle. Like we discard the waste veggies after a good cooking session, we should discard all the unwanted negativities. This way, we will stay happy & also emanate lot of positive energies.

Staying quiet & tranquil will give us immense peace & pleasure both on the outside & the inside. One way of achieving this calm nature is Meditation. With constant meditation all the worldly things become petty & trivial. You would simply frown over negativisms, or just laugh them over. There will be lasting peace & no more watering of seeds of anguish, despair, & brawl. Tarnishing & sullying words need not be paid back in unkind & brutality always. Forgiveness is next to Godliness.

Every reaction needs a catalyst to happen, but make sure that you don't act as a catalyst to spark off a fire. So don't ever react to what is being said & done. Even the Vedas speak of the 5 Indriyaas (5 senses), viz. Ankh (Eyes), kaan (Ears), naak (Nose), jivha (Tongue), mann (Body & Soul) that should be kept under control. The tongue is a vital sensory organ to be controlled, because it can otherwise deliver very acidic speeches. Getting a grip on our tongue, helps to keep us in equilibrium. This way we won't even hurt anyone. As is the human tendency, 1000 good deeds may be forgotten but 1 bad act is always remembered.

The mantraa to stay happy also is not to erupt & react to what people say or tell us. We are in complete control of our lives, & our happiness is all in our hands. There can be no external factors that affect our happiness. We should not let people fiddle with us our happiness. Never give out the remote control of your happiness/ sadness into other people’s hands. They would otherwise know which button to press & the channel on our face changes from that of happiness to sadness.

Finally Newton's first law states that: An object in rest stays in rest, & an object in motion remains in motion, until & unless an unbalanced force acts on it. So let peace & wisdom prevails, & don't unbalance the equilibrium by being over reactive, eruptive & acidic.
(Image Courtesy: Amit's Gallery )