It’s John’s 10th birthday party at his place in the evening at 7–30 pm. A few relatives, neighbors, friends and Steven’s (John’s father) colleagues are among the invitees. It’s already 2–30 pm, Jane (John’s mother) is totally busy with the decorations. She is multitasking with decorating the hall and baking the cheese cookies (among the evening snacks for guests) kept in the oven.
She has four more recipes pending to prepare for the dinner. Steven is expected to arrive home by 5–30 pm with enough bottles of champagne for his colleagues. John will also supposedly reach around 5–30 pm after completing his classes.
Timing mistake can happen to even the biggest of the master chefs turning the food to carbon. Unfortunately, the same happened with Jane. The set timer exceeded the actual required time for cookies which gave smokes. Already panicked, she threw away whatever decorative material she had in her hands and rushed towards the kitchen.
On opening the oven, it was carbon all over. Confused whether to feel shocked or angry or to just slam the cookies on the floor out of frustration, Jane felt highly disappointed. It was 4 pm by then.
Meanwhile, it’s 4–30 pm now Steven has started (early on request) from his office to the market. He has to purchase the champagne bottles, sauces, the cake, candles and some others as per Jane’s instructions. Market is not too far from the office, his home is.
Now in the market, John has the written list of shopping items and he is buying them one by one. After an hour or so, he has all the items packed in five big bags and he is on his way to the parking area. While on way to home, there is a back tyre burst. He has barely covered half distance and it’s already 5–30 pm. Both Jane and Steven have landed themselves in soup.
At home, Jane desperately needs a helper to control the mess she created. The door bell rings, Jane comes to open the door expecting Steven there but it turns out to be John.
“Hey mom, I’m home.” said an excited John. “Hi John.” Jane replied in a very tensed and upset tone. “Is everything okay?” Asks a slightly worried John.
Jane narrated the entire story to John. “You need to calm down Mom. It’s just the cookies right?, You can’t just reverse the cooking process and get back the dough from it. You can get the cookies from the famous bakery which is just five minutes away. I can get them if you say. And the two of the four items which you couldn’t prepare, they can be ordered from the restaurant. They will be delivered within 45 minutes. You can continue with your other items for dinner. You still have time now.”
Jane is completely relieved now and has begun her halted work in full swing. John has bought the cookies from the famous bakery nearby.
“It’s 6-pm and Steven hasn’t arrived yet? He was expected to reach by 5–30 pm right? He has this very bad habit of messing up things each time.” Jane shouted in frustration. John in his usual calm “There you go again. Mom, why can’t you just calm down and give him a call? Ok wait, I am calling him.”
Steven’s phone rings, he answers. “Hey John, I am in a terrible mess here. I am barely half way and the back tyre is punctured. I am so sorry John. Please ask Jane to calm down if she’s angry already. “Don’t worry dad, I have already. Why don’t you call up your friend Mr. George and ask for help? If I’m not wrong his home falls some where midway between our home and your office. Right?”
Steven couldn’t be happier. He called George and explained the situation. George showed up in 5 minutes. George dropped Steve as it would take more than an hour for puncture removal.
It’s 7 pm when Steve is finally home. Also, Jane on her way to the last few minutes of cooking. Both Jane and Steve explained their mess and laughed out at the chaos. A few minutes the restaurant boy ranged the bell and handed over the parcel.
The guests started arriving by 7–30 and by 7–45 all the guests were there. The cake was cut, snacks and food were served, the drinks poured in glasses, the music played and the happy guests left by 9–30. It was a longer than usual day for Jane and Steve. All thanks to little John for being calm and composed all through the chaos.
Hope by now, you have understood the lesson this story wants to convey. A calm and composed mind can find solutions to problems even amid chaos. And that’s how John displayed his calmness during the problematic situation and handled it with grace.
The readers will have the most obvious question. How?
Awareness
It’s not wrong when you face problems at the most unexpected times. You can however keep in mind that you are capable enough to handle it. Be aware of the problems, not the exact ones, but you can have a rough idea depending upon your knowledge. Remind yourself, not always you can have the things run smoothly. Only then you can stay calm and avoid panicking.
Patience
Problems are not to be engaged with aggression. They need to be handled with patience. You must try and learn ways to be patient. Patience is the key.
Backup plan
Problems may occur at the unexpected times, there’s no stopping. A back up plan or two for every possible scenario can be made well in advance. This will avoid unnecessary chaos and if the things do not run smoothly, at least they won’t be a complete mess.
Focus
Focus plays an important role during a crisis. When mind is busy focusing on the solutions, it will not be affected by the exterior surroundings however tense they may seem.
Experience
Experience is everything you have even when you have very less. Use your experiences. Share your experiences or problems with people, they might share their too. You never know they may have the answers what you exactly need.
A reference to goes to the movie Kung Fu Panda (first part of the franchise). Below are the stills from a scene when the great master Oogway tells his friend Shifu about his vision which hints at the return of Tailung (the antagonist).
“Your mind is like this water my friend.
When it is agitated it become difficult to see.
But if you allow it to settle,
the answer becomes clear.”
Master shifu trained and raised Tailung with a hope of making him a worthy dragon warrior. However, Oogway already foresaw the darkness in Tailung and imprisoned him when he started destroying the valley.
Well, this sums up some of the effective ways to calmness and composure.
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