Tim and I were talking the other day about a preparedness class we're putting together for a fire department and the concepts of situational awareness came up. Personally, I have a love / hate relationship with situational awareness. I absolutely love the concept and believe it’s something that should be a part of everyone’s daily living. BUT, I think the term is overused, over generalized and has been watered down too far. Situational awareness is so integral to preparedness because it's so personal. The application is individualized, but my point today is going to hit on the 2 sides where we feel situational awareness is the most important. After all awareness is rooted in preparedness of one's self.
But here's where situational awareness hits home for me. The concept is solid and it should be practiced to the point of mastery, but never accepted as status quo. Even with mastery, there should still be an evolution of learning, an enhancement of strategies and tactics to better be aware of our surroundings. BUT and this is the big one, it shouldn't be used only to look for threats, hazards or bad things! As humans we should be generous, courteous and overall helpful to our fellow earthly dwellers. Situational awareness should be like a coin, it has two sides. Being alert for bad things is certainly part of it, but what if we were also on the lookout for opportunities to serve. What if by acts of kindness observed through a keen sense of situational awareness we were also able to help others? Would our world start to look different? Would we have a positive impact on those around us?

This isn't too say that we should abandon our senses of awareness to danger, to throw caution to the wind by not watching someone's hands, or assessing their behavior. Only to broaden the lens at which we see things through. I'd dare bet that many of us see more than we realize when it comes to what could be called positive situational awareness opportunities. But are we taking the opportunity to act. The ripple effect of observing someone in need and being able to help could be staggering. Especially since a large section of our audience here at Quoth the Raven are protectors by nature.

As Tim & I discussed, it's the ability to observe situational awareness as a wholistic concept that becomes the foundation for preparedness. From there we can talk strategic and tactic application to better prepare for not only our own protection, but to serve others. We have to back up and look at the full scene. Find the details that are important and find ways to make the world better. Take it all in!

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