Those Freakish Moments

I have often noticed that people are killed or injured in incidents involving nature or weather that are deemed by the witnesses or the media to have been "freak" - a freak wave, a freak storm, a freak flood, and so on.

But, take those freak waves -  how freakish were they, really?  There is a growing body of science dedicated to understanding such waves - they do exist, but any properly taught rock fisherman, surfer, or boatie, knows just how life preserving are those minutes and hours spent standing back from the water, observing.

I learned while quite young that watching the rock platforms I was intending to fish from could be the most important 15 minutes of the whole trip.  I also learned the hard way that even those 15 minutes of observation might not forearm me sufficiently against the waves that the complex interplay of wind, tide, and current could throw at me - and that even the most experienced fishereman in my family could not always predict all of them.  Likewise, my years in the Boy Scouts were replete with lessons that helped me identify potential hazards when hiking, or camping, and techniques to deal with those hazards.

Failing to learn about the risks, and failing to maintain vigilance towards every aspect of the environment you are in will too often prove fatal - whereas learning about the risks inherent in that environment, and staying alert to them will vastly improve your chances.

As an example, how often do we see images or videos of people doing insanely dangerous things, like fishing for Barramundi while standing waist deep in muddy waters, only metres from a big, bold, brightly coloured "Beware of Crocodiles" sign?

In our socienty, signs, brochures, websites, and TV shows that inform and warn of the dangers of fire, flood, storm, slippery cliff edges, dangerous animals (and humans) and so many other risks, are abundant, and are too often ignored, or treated as mere entertainment, whose lessons need not be carried over into the real life of the viewer.  Perversely, the more signs there are, the more inclined people seem to be to ignore them.

YouTube is awash with clips of people risking disablement, disfigurement or death doing risky things for the camera while their friends urge them on and laugh at their falls and collisions - the people from The Darwin Awards are never short of material to consider as they choose the annual winners of their "prize".

As someone who has lived, worked, and played in city, bush, river, and ocean, and who spent much of his life in some sort of emergency service (both paid and volunteeer) I can only ask, over and over, "Why?".  Most people would be astounded to know how often the Blue Mountains Rescue services are called out to retrieve the body of another tourist who felt the need climb over the safety railings so as to add to their holiday snaps a selfy of themselves at the very edge of one of our many 500 metre high cliffs.  One retired Police Rescue officer I know has often called such people out on their behaviour - it worries him so much that he finds it hard to enjoy the simple pleasures of walking one of our beautiful, cliff top trails.

I was fortunate - as a child and young adult I heard a lot of stories from family - fishers, farmers, police - that taught me a great deal about the risks.

Did it scare me into staying inside?  Not at all - those stories were full of the clues and signs I would need to watch for, but also full of the sense of joy and adventure to be had in the wider world.

Those stories inspired me, even as they made me safer.  Did they make my life risk and trouble free?  No way - I was a young human, full of curiosity and over confidence.  The stories didn't stop me from trying new things and going new places, but they also saved my life more than once.

More than ever the human race needs stories that honestly set out the risks and dangers that are inherent in our pasage through time and space, and not just the physical risks, but the moral and spiritual risks as well. The stories exist - the trick seems to bve connecting those who can tell the stories with those who need to hear them.

For people of  my age, the fables and fairy stories of our childhood contained many of those lessons, and seem to have been designed, in some far distant past, by some wise old bard, for just such a purpose.  A wonderful writer on this topic is Kate Forsyth - as well as writing some great fiction, she has written a number of works addressing the lineage and value of fairy tales, and given some excellent interviews on the ABC - well worth listening to.

In a world awash with so many stories of dubious worth or so little meaning, we need stories and story tellers that can help us, our children, and our neighbours, identify the stories of true worth.

They are often closer than you think.  Have you spoken to that worn or weathered neighbour?  That wear and tear was accumulated during the building of their life story - say hello and you might hear stories you need (and will enjoy)