8/1/2006 - blink
In one single minute yesterday as I was sitting at a table surrounded by friends drinking coffee, an old man was suffering a heart attack. In that minute I realised just how unaware we all are about most things.
To my perception, the only thing concerning me at that point in time, that single minute, was my coffee and the fun I was having with friends. To that old man... who knows what he was thinking. In that minute where my life brushed so briefly with his before he died, I caught the smallest, most profound glimpse of how one single minute, the same one, affects so many people differently.
My life has continued past that minute. I'm still diving. I'm still laughing. I'm still drinking coffee with my friends. But that old man has died, and there are no more minutes for him. There are no more minutes with him for his family. That minute changed the lives of all his family and friends because suddenly they have an unexpected void in their lives.
Why post this dark, moody thought in a dive blog?
Diving is dangerous. It only takes a small brush with a tiny problem and in one minute, as dramatic as it sounds, everything could change for you.
I don't care what association you dive with, which dive flag you wave or what your diving beliefs are. Do a rescue course of some descript. Make sure your first aid skills are up to date.
Don't be content just having done a rescue course and keeping your certification card in your purse - keep your skills fresh. Practice rescue scenarios. Take them seriously. It's amazingly easy how quickly things go wrong, and if things go wrong you really don't want to be floundering around wishing like hell you'd taken the time to do things properly or utilised a weekend to do a course which could teach you life saving skills.
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