I am a fairly observant person, partly by my nature and partly through training. Being aware of your surroundings and being aware of the people around you helps set you up for success. The more I look around today the more I see people who are completely unaware of their surroundings. Most people walk around with 2 of their 5 traditional senses compromised. We’re blessed by our creator with a set of sensors that are leaps and bounds above anything out there – our ability to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch allow us to be a sensory fusion center that is unmatched by any machine.
These senses provide us and have been providing humanity the ability to detect danger and avoid it for thousands of years. So, I must ask why are so many of us compromising our senses? Why are so many of us looking at our mobile devices and walking around with headphones stuck in our ears. I see it all the time, people literally setting themselves up for failure because they are not using all of their senses.
I am not talking about people sitting on a beach reading a book on their mobile device while listening to Chris Stapleton sing about Tennessee Whiskey. Rather, I am talking about the folks walking through busy metropolitan areas with their mobile devices and headphones.
What these people are doing is literally setting them up for failure. You see, there are evil people in this world and what these people do is look for victims. They look for people who are not looking out for them. They are looking for people that they can sneak up on, take advantage of, do violence to…all while minimizing their own risk.
So, I ask you are they going to go for the person that is effectively using all of their senses while walking down the street or the person that is updating their Facebook while listening to music…all while blissfully walking down the street? I know the answer and you can ask many law enforcement officers…most victims are surprised, they didn’t know something was wrong until something went wrong. Am I surprised by this? No, unfortunately not at all.
So, take your mobile device and stick it in your pocket. If you need to check your email or update your Facebook, step into a busy store. That new release that you have to listen to…well, it can wait until you are in a safe spot. Need to go for a run through the park or the neighborhood late at night…don’t stick those headphones in your ear…rather listen to the sounds of the street and perhaps you may catch the sounds of a predator trying to stalk you.