Empty Capsules

Did you ever go to dump a vitamin in your hand and come up with an empty capsule? It has happened to me a few times. The first time, I probably was like, “Whaaat? How did this happen? They owe me a vitamin.” The second time, I was probably like, “Their filler machine needs some tweaking.” The third time, I probably just threw it away without commenting, since the novelty was gone. 

An empty capsule – which way will I tackle it? Are we an empty shell? Did finding it stress me out? I decided to go with our levels of reaction. There are a lot of things that jump at us – or are dumped on us – that are bound to make us react. Sometimes positively, sometimes negatively, depending on what is being dumped. For instance, someone is rude to us in a store – how do we react/respond? Are we rude back? Or do we put a smile on our face with the hope that the person is just having a bad day and needs some encouragement? Maybe, like my capsules, it happens three times in a row. Will our reaction be better each time as we are getting used to rude people, or will we get angrier at each new person’s rude comments? Maybe the first time we react instead of respond. Yes, there is a difference; although you won’t find it in a dictionary search. In the world of behavior patterns, to react is a quick, without thought reaction to something that is bound to be fueled by our emotions. Responding is a more thoughtful, pausing way, so we are less likely to go with our emotions or immediate instinct than to seek to make the situation better somehow.

So, each new empty capsule brought a new response from me that became more lackluster as it was less interesting. When we are dealing with people, it’s a whole different issue – although we do sometimes respond in a similar fashion to people. We react, respond, and sometimes we hang on to the “rude” moments. Whether it is the other person’s actions or our reactions that linger in our minds, it might be helpful to remember that there is likely a reason that someone is being rude. It doesn’t excuse their behavior, but it can remind us that we are the only person in control of how we decide to respond to them – or any other situation that arises. What kind of person do you prefer to be? Reactionary or responsive? You get to decide.