 Intuition
& Instincts - Saftey On the Streets
By Elizabeth Harriman-Crooks, instructor in
Martial Arts & Self-defense
Everything had gone wrong at work for Nancy and now the bus had dropped her off
late. Hurrying home she was thinking about preparing supper when suddenly a man stepped
out in front of her, demanding her purse. She resisted. It took him one right hook to
knock Nancy unconscious. When she came to, she had a broken cheekbone and three missing
teeth. Nancy's attempt at kicking and punching her assailant had been ineffectual. What
could she have done so that she wouldn't have been injured and robbed?
How many times have you gotten on an elevator with only one other
person, your stomach clenched, yet, you rationalized away your fears, telling yourself the
other person looked perfectly safe and normal?
Or when you were trying to sell that couch of yours and that man wanted
to come for a look at it, did you hesitate before you agreed to let him come?
Or, how many times have you walked across a parking lot with your arms
laden, purse slung over your shoulder and when you arrived at your car, you juggled things
around while looking for your keys? Walking across that same parking lot late at night,
did you ever notice the hair at the back of your neck bristling? Turning around you
looked, but didn't see anyone following...
These examples are your intuition trying to tell you something and a
lack of preplanning.
How do you learn to listen to your intuition and how do you learn to
differentiate between an instinctive response and unwarranted fear? It requires both
practice and the willingness on your part to start listening to and believing in yourself.
Trusting intuition is the exact opposite of living in fear. Fear is
meant to be brief. You need to learn to accept that signal as a warning message, analyze
what is causing the distress and do something about the situation. Once you have dealt
with what is really causing the fear, it will subside.
Often when an instinctive response sets in, it is because at a
subconscious level we have registered things we didn't consciously notice: out of the
corner of our eye we see something, the street is just too quiet or the person is not
someone we've seen before in the building.
You can practice being aware of what is going on around you. Don't get
so caught up in what is going on in your head that you don't pay attention to the people
and things around you. Where are the cars? Where are the people? What are the noises?
There is no need for walking around all the time thinking about what
might happen. Just open your mind to the signals that could come in. "...safety is
enhanced by perception of what is outside the mind; perception of what is happening not,
what might happen".
These are examples of things we can do in our
everyday lives to help eliminate fear:
• Before you leave the store, house, office, etc., have your car
keys in your hand. Never set yourself up as a target by looking for them when arriving at
your car.
• Always look around as you walk, whether outside, in a mall or at
school. Even if you don't register anything consciously, it looks as if you're paying
attention. You won't appear so vulnerable.
• You don't have to get on any particular elevator. A wild animal
would never get on an elevator with another animal it didn't feel completely safe with.
Why should you?
Nancy could have saved herself a lot of pain and agony if she had taken
some precautions and listened to her instincts. She was planning dinner as she walked home
rather than looking around. Had she focused outwardly she would have noticed the fellow
leaning against the car. Apprehension at the sight of him would have given her the chance
to get help before encountering him. It was a tough lesson for Nancy. Don't let it be so
tough for you to learn!
Gavin de Becker, The Gift of Fear, Toronto, Little, Brown
& Company Limited, 1997, p 79.
Elizabeth Harriman-Crooks and her partner teach both
martial arts and self-defense. She can be reached through the A.C.K.U. at
403 232 0228. |
