Survival.
Pretty much that is why we do a great deal of the things we do on a day-to-day basis. We avoid this; we don't eat that; we save; we exercise; we work to pay the heat bill so we survive through the night; we lock the doors; we wear our seatbelts... and so on.
What about when something REALLY bad happens?
Are you prepared to survive?
What does that mean?
Now, I am not 'survivalist' and neither am I an 'alarmist', but it seems to me that there should be some basic measures we should all be able take in event of an 'emergency'.
For example, the power went out in my neighborhood the other morning (a miniscule emergency in the grand scheme of things) and I thought about whether or not I would be prepared if the power went out for days or weeks instead of a couple hours.
With the social climate around the world (not to mention the car bomb that was found in Times Square), it is not very hard to imagine some pretty crazy types of emergencies occurring.
Over the coming weeks and months the HomeWork, from time to time, will focus on certain aspects of survival and emergency preparedness. Not to raise any level of paranoia, but rather just exercises and activities to raise awareness.
So, this week's HomeWork is based upon that idea of survival preparedness.
With Opening Day yesterday, this week's theme will be water.
In the comedic words of Bill Cosby's "Noah" routine, "How long can you tread water?"
This week, our HomeWork is to tread water for 5 minutes. There are many reasons why this is a great skill to have. You have a boat. Your friend has a boat. Your child takes swim lessons. You go on a cruise. Flood. You drive on a bridge, often or not. You go swimming and get a cramp in your foot. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Now, I don't recommend EVERYONE jumping into a lake or the ocean. But rather, find a swimming pool (with a lifeguard - just in case) and see how long you can tread water up to 5 minutes. If, in the last year, you have ever done a triathlon or swam farther than 1 mile at a time, then I raise the bar for you and suggest you try to tread water for 10 minutes.
This is just one step in the awareness of what your level of 'survival traits/skills' are in case of emergency.
Have a great week,
MRoss
