Action and Reaction
The world is composed of actions and reactions. Every action is paired with a reaction of some sort. In a physics sense, these are equal, the action force is met with equal reaction force. On a perceptual level, one event can have widespread reaction. For example, if you drop a pebble into the center of a still lake, the ripples extend far beyond the point where the pebble fell. Scientifically, we know the force creating the ripples is the same as the force of the falling rock. Visually, we see the ripples as being much more far reaching than the impact area.
Socially, an action can create reactions greater than itself. A single world leader can make an important speech and cause millions of others to react.
In our ego driven culture, social reaction is considered negative compared to social action. American writer and political activist Rita Mae Brown wrote, “A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.”
Our society is often focused on control. We seek to conquer our environments and each other through containment and control. We genetically enhance food. We build dams and reservoirs. We create skin creams to counter the effects of aging. Every aspect of our lives is influenced by actions. Actions equal control. So what is reaction? Lack of control? Submission to the will of others? Reaction is certainly yin and action is yang, but they need each other. One is not less desirable than the other in all circumstances.
Let’s imagine a busy commute to work. An aggressive driver cuts in front of you instead of waiting in the long line of vehicles heading to exit from the expressway, as you have waited. You can get angry. Your reaction could be to also drive aggressively, honk your horn, make sure no one else cuts in front of you, etc. Or you could be as the water when the pebble came falling down. You can let the driver merge and go on as you would have before he came along. The water makes way for the pebble then returns to its previous state. It doesn’t try to affect the pebble in a retaliatory manner nor change how it will react to the next pebble. The pebble does not change the water.
The only way you are giving control to someone is if your reaction causes you to change.
Of course, change, like almost everything else isn’t absolute in being a positive or a negative thing. There is no harm in reacting to and adjusting for the will of others, especially if reacting doesn’t require you to change in a negative manner. The wisdom is found in knowing the difference between action and reaction and knowing when to change and when not to change.
So how do we know the difference? Is the farmer harvesting his crops an action or just a reaction to the crops having matured? Was the aggressive driver cutting in front of you because they just like to be that way or were they reacting to some other event that transpired earlier?
In physics, there are some that argue that all actions are actually reactions to a single event that set the universe in motion. Socially, an action is something we do with a conscious desire and a consideration of how the action will affect us and others. Reactions are generally more direct responses to actions.
Obviously there is not a black and white, cut and dried test to say socially, one thing is an action and another thing is a reaction all of the time. However it may be insightful for us to occasionally reflect on our activities and consider how we live. Do we act when we should react? How do we react?
We may find that we can react to our own actions, and make a positive change.
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