In the past, I’ve written that a person’s immediate reaction to a sudden situation is highly indicative of their internal character. This, to me, seems obvious and self-evident. The example I usually give is if a person is confronted with a situation (such as a building bursting into flames) in which they are immediately forced to choose between doing something heroic (some may say foolish) or elect instead to be passive (and thus safe). Heroes, I believe, are largely born, not made.
Perhaps you saw a video that just came out of a couple visiting Mexico who were terrified that they had been hunted down by a murderous cartel. I feel bad that these two men went through this ordeal, although I confess to smirking a bit at their pearl-clutching reactions (just watch the video). All the same, I’m glad they’re all right. I share this video simply because it’s one of those instances in which raw feelings are exposed because one doesn’t have the opportunity to think of a reaction and then act it out.
This post is not a tale of a heroic act, yet I was reminded of this phenomenon this morning. I strolled into my local Home Depot, which I tend to do each weekend to pick up a few extra plants for the yard. As I was making my way toward the garden section, my eyes locked onto a rather large rat scampering from beneath a rack of household plants into the tools section.
What are some various reactions people might have reacted to such a sight? Some people (females, I would hope) might shriek. Some might feel immediate revulsion. Others might not care. And others, perhaps without my potent powers of peripheral vision, wouldn’t even notice.
Me? I smiled and felt warm inside. I thought it was great that the rat was there.
And why? Because I love survivors. I love the fact that this little fellow was not only surviving in this supremely hostile environment (which had literally dozens of products for sale specifically to kill rats) but was, in fact, thriving. I thought to myself the equivalent of “You go, girl!” ………..except the rat version.
So part of it was that I admire survivors. Part of it was that this was a fellow mammal, one of God’s creatures, and clearly an intelligent one at that. But, perhaps more than anything else, I saw myself in that rat.
So………my instant reaction was good feelings. And I hope he’s scampering around, avoiding tragedy and chaos, for a long time to come.
Just like me.
