What it started out was with a mere need to spend time with my brother. His excitement about watching a movie was infectious. So with the little time that we had in our hands...we went to see the movie. The movie was great and we soon came out of the hall replaying the good scenes that we had witnessed on the screen for the past two hours.
Now what I don’t understand about Indian cinemas is why the air-conditioning is so darn cold. So call of nature beckoned me towards the loo.I had the parking ticket in my hand which I handed over to my brother telling him to keep it carefully...else we won’t be able to take out our vehicle. Now here begins our movie...
As soon as I come out of the bathroom...I found him looking frantically for something...I ask what’s up??He looked at me and just said that I lost the ticket. Generally I don’t flare up but this thing got me really mad because this was the second time he was doing this and that too going by his habit he was bound to repeat...What angered me was not the fact that he lost the ticket but his nature and the foreseeable problems that would result due to his forgetful nature..
I did give him my share of anger and accusations. But he being a teenager was I guess on his own road trip. Instead of listening to me he told me that who are these people and what will they do...Let me talk to them I’ll put them straight...How dare hey ask me for the ticket and all...
This further put fuel on my anger which was now directed towards him for being so insensitive and all...As we were bickering about this whole issue we had come to the road. After much adieu our vehicle was given to us and we were on our way home.
Out of nowhere this rickshaw driver comes and pulls his rickshaw in front of us...Blocking the free left turn...I don’t know what happened but I found myself shouting at the rickshaw puller about how he should not have blocked the way and all..And I went on. On the way back...When my anger simmered down I realised what I had done.
I had created a chian reaction. I was angry at my brother for my reasons...and I directed that anger towards a rickshaw puller who in reality had nothing to do with the entire episode. This led me to think that that rickshaw puller is also a human. And due to my firing he would/might go home and maybe shout at his wife. Another example of displaced anger. The wife in turn would shout at maybe the mother-in-law or the kids in the house. Now for no fault of this family they had become the receiving end of my anger.
Had I controlled my reaction then itself and instead of shouting at the man…had I said things calmly, the chain would have stopped then itself. I had managed to get calm after coming home but then what about the rickshaw puller. It created a cycle that would eventually spread in the entire world.
And maybe someday come back to me…
I learnt a lesson today…the book of Life gave me knowledge that I needed and it wanted me to spread it…
A humble request to all who read this…a second of thought before anger can make this world a better place to be in…
-OM-
