A Cockroach’s Theory For Self Composure

A disturbing cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady at a restaurant. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but… it landed on another lady in the group who continued the drama.

The waiter noticed the hullabaloo caused by a thin cockroach and 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 it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant window.

Watching the amusing scenario,  my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their exaggerated behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

I concluded it was not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturb me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it’s our reaction to the problem that creates chaos in our lives.