Flow Triggers Category #5: Perceived Threat to Safety

[Photo credit: ID 19599539 © Vladimirs Prusakovs | Dreamstime.com]

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I took off for about a week to travel to where I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I’m rested and ready to resume my writing.

This article is about how a perceived threat to safety can trigger flow. When you perceive that your safety or the safety of others is compromised, and you are prepared and in alignment mentally, physically, and spiritually, you drop into flow.

When unexpected events occur, and we are not prepared, people can get hurt or worse. Here is an example:

Dr. Joe, a chiropractor and volunteer firefighter from the suburbs of Atlanta, was involved in an incident where fireworks were being set off at a party at a friend’s home on the lake. His family was with him. Joe was experienced in setting off fireworks and had taken the time to learn the proper way to be safe around them.

Here is his story:

Prior to the fireworks display, I decided to wander down to the lake’s edge from where the fireworks were going to be launched. I noticed that the man designated to light the fireworks had set them up with the fuses all hanging out of the boxes so he could just light them and throw them into the Sonotubes®.

As I evaluated the situation, I determined that the crowd was too close to the display. I went back to my family and told them to back up. They resisted my urging. I tried to explain to my wife, “These things are too powerful. They are professional grade. If one of these falls out of the tube, it could blow up and hurt somebody.”

No sooner than I tried to explain, one of the fireworks popped out about five feet from its Sonotube, dropped back down to the platform where the other not-yet-staged fireworks were, and burst open. All 430 fireworks were surrounded by boxes. When the first one blew up, the ones lined up on a rock wall ready to be lit started to go off. They blew up and shot towards the crowd.

When the first one exploded, everything felt like slow motion. I watched and thought, “This is going to be interesting.” But when it burst open, all I could see was a gigantic flash of flame. I yelled out to everyone, “Run, run, run!”

My instinct was to run. But I suddenly realized, “I’ve got my whole family here.” I turned around and grabbed my kids and started running.

As I did that, I noticed a tall propane canister that the party hosts were using for cooking. I dove and knocked over the canister. I felt like I was in a war. I threw my son behind a little doghouse to keep him safe.

Finally, everything finished igniting.

In this situation, Dr. Joe’s trigger was the initial explosion and the instinct to save himself. Yet, because of his firefighter training and his situational awareness, he was able to drop into flow, prioritize his actions, and take care of his family as well as be aware of other potential dangers (e.g., the propane canister).

However you subscribe, thank you for reading!

Learn to flow!

Dr. Judy