Awareness alert

 Are you aware and alert?

My husband and I have been traveling and teaching self-defense around the world. When I started my martial arts journey, I learned at the very beginning that I could not really hit a person, not even for practice and with control. I am telling you this because if things get really ugly and you need to defend yourself, you may not be able to! I learned to punch, and I am sure you can do it, too. But before things go that far wrong, there are many things we can do to prevent any harm. Better safe than sorry, right? That is why I ask, are you aware and alert?

Sense of security

Do you pay attention to your surroundings and notice if someone behaves oddly? Do you avoid dark alleys and corners? Do you actually look around when you are walking or jogging? Or are you one of those whose sense of security is so high that they jog during any hour of the day with their hooded sweatshirts, listening to music with noise-canceling headphones? I admit that where we are born and raised as children plays a huge role in security. The more secure you feel with your surroundings as a child, the more secure you probably feel as an adult. Luckily, we can all reason and use our knowledge of human behavior when encountering different surroundings and scenarios. You might hear warnings and pay attention to those. 

Protect yourself

You can never tell for sure what is going on in people's minds. But you can protect yourself and your loved ones with precaution. It does not mean you give in to fear or are fragile. Hell no. It means that you are smart and can use your mind to foresee unfortunate events that might occur and decide to avoid them. Sometimes, bad things happen when we get comfortable and practice things like habits. We just do our business and pay no attention to anything around us. We might text and cross a busy road, leaving our well-being to someone else to protect. We trust that someone else will stop, and we can just mind our business. That is scary. When I was a kid, I was told to look for cars. If one of those was to drive over me, I would die. No one said there were circumstances when I would be right and the driver wrong. They only told me that if something that much bigger than me hit me with speed, I would be the one hurt. And I never felt the need to test that theory. We should not trust so blindly on others. They might have a bad day. 

Sensory overload

If we, in this hectic world, add to our stress level and never learn to slow down, we add to our load every day. Noises, lights, sounds, smells, people and things surround us. To stay safe, we need our senses. If we are stressed and tired and try to hide behind our smartphones, we call for trouble. Sometimes, it is pure chance that we will survive. We should learn to look for the safest path. Keep quiet enough to hear alarming sounds. And calm our minds when facing any situation. If we burden ourselves with all else, there is no time and space for awareness of any kind.