Out of the Box
“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang aft agley,” is how Robert Burns wrote it.
But we know it better like this…the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.
I encourage people to have an emergency plan. My close group has one. I’ve also said the most likely thing to happen with such a plan is that people will lose their copy. The best we can hope for is that they remember enough of it when the time comes.
But just as likely, it won’t work for another reason. You might be out of the box. That means you could be in a location that will simply not relate to the emergency plan. Out on the highway. Visiting a friend. An infinite number of possibilities, because life means movement. All of us are on the move a great deal of the time, and that leaves us vulnerable to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Don’t worry about it.
Go ahead and make your emergency plan. It is very important that you do so. It gives all the members of your group a common rationale. That means, because you all thought together about the emergency plan, you will have a chance of thinking in a like manner if and when things do not go according to plan. You might come to the same conclusion, given the new circumstances. That is very valuable.
So what do you do if you find yourself outside the box? Again, don’t worry about it. That is probably the best thought I can help put in your head… although you have to permanently install it yourself. Realize that you may be cut off from home base and the people that mean the most to you. If you manage to keep your head, that will give you the best likelihood of seeing them again.
Survey and analyze your situation. That means look around you and really see what is happening. Is there danger? Are you okay for the moment? Do you need to get moving quickly? Are you injured? Does anyone around you need care?
Then inventory your assets. What do you have with you? Did you stock your car for such an emergency as recommended, or does the place in which you find yourself have any water, food, communications, etc.?
Regroup and replan. What can you do… what are your options? What should you do, given the circumstances? Do you need to make plans for an extended stay wherever it is you find yourself until the crisis stage of the emergency is over? Or do you need to pack up and get on your way toward… what? Take time, if you have it, to sit down and clearly think out your goals. Short term will be to take care of yourself, and perhaps others you are with, if you have the skills. Long term will probably… although not certainly… be to see if somehow you can eventually make it to the meeting place that is in your emergency plan.
And for the third time, don’t worry about it. You can do only what you can do. Do not beat yourself up for being out of the box. It may be that not only you, but others of your group were also out of the box. Life is like that. Stay calm, stay focused, and think rationally. It’s just another day. Breathe normally and get through it. You are even allowed to smile. Which makes good hormones happen. And you’ll need them.
