There are a number of ways to die as proven by the news feeds everyday, but two ways of dying have stood out to me lately as something to ponder.
The first way to die is with honor, dignity and while leaving others with pleasant if not inspiring memories. My wife and I took a quiet drive through an old cemetery this week and amidst the quietness there was the loud testimonies of those buried there…
“A mother that lived for her children”
“A soldier others followed”
“A man of integrity and kindness”
The list could go on and on. It makes one wonder, “What would they say of me?”
If we were to live our lives constantly thinking of what others will write on that slab of granite, it may very well change the way we all live. Are we generous? Are we trustworthy? Are we dedicated? Do we love? Give? Listen? I would be afraid to think what some would write on that stone… perhaps I should try to change a few things…
You see, we often believe that the last phase of life is that moment when we breathe in that last breath, but in reality, the last phase is after we are gone and are only remembered. What is engraved on that tombstone is the summary of every first impression you have ever made…
With that said, let’s talk of the second way to die. The second way one can die is way before that last breath. It is at that moment when opportunity knocks and you answer the door wearing oversized sweat pants, a stained tank top and your hair a mess… First impressions. They can lead to a legacy or a nightmare of failure. I am afraid that our younger generation rarely understands the importance of that first moment. I am convinced a majority of them do not understand the importance of a solid beginning.
Last week I was given a tour of a large elementary school. As the principal proudly walked me through the hallways, I was amazed by the number of young teachers standing outside their classrooms checking their smart phones while surrounded by young students waiting for instructions. Of course after leaving the school I waited at a gas station for the cashier to finish texting her boyfriend before she could ring up my coffee.
Later, my waitress actually set her phone on the food tray so she could monitor her FaceBook while carrying my meal.
I will never visit that station, send my child to that school or attempt to enjoy a meal at that restaurant again.
The very technology that could create heroes from this new generation could very well be killing them. In the field of emergency management and response there are certain characteristics we look for in partners, agents, associates, members, volunteers and employees. Amongst these character qualities there lies those most crucial; attention to detail, vigilance, passion and consistency. The handheld technology designed to better the world (and perhaps save it) has become the reason why many of our young people will never reach their potential in the field of disaster response or emergency management.
As I tour I hear from young people their concern for their futures. They wonder where they will find work, who will hire them and how much they will make. My answer is, it depends on how well you understand real life. REAL life.
I believe that this generation might very well have the ability to stand in the middle of a tornado and not know it is there unless someone Tweets them the news. Lack of business etiquette training and an obsession with social media and techno-relationships has left us an oblivious mass of earphone wearing natives that have thrust themselves back into the stone age with the technology of the future.
Would I ever hire that waitress? Those school teachers? The girl at the gas station? Nope.
Here is a word for our younger generation… Don't die before you have to. Don't start out this way.
Preparedness is a lifestyle, not a concept or even a philosophy. To excel in this field, there is an incredible awareness you must possess to effectively plan, study and respond. This awareness will come from paying attention to not only your immediate surroundings but to the global environment. You will never make it staring at a small screen in the palm of your hand every waking hour.
Read all you can. Watch all you can. Ask questions (in person) and listen to the answers. Find the “old-timers” when you can and glean all you can as if stripping the meat off of bone; they hold the keys to wisdom.
Rely on your technology only as an assistant to the skills you are trying to acquire. Technology itself is not a skill. Learning, listening and paying attention are skills. I believe that this younger generation holds the ability to understand and develop the technology to do battle with climate change if that ability is coupled with old fashioned learning.
You see, the day we need these young minds the most, the technology won’t be there, only the results of what they created beforehand . This new generation needs to attack opportunity with a balanced focus in order to leave a legacy of success like no generation before it, but to do so, it will have to occasionally set down the Xbox controllers and smart phones long enough to learn how to function in the real world.
I am watching careers die before they even begin… as for me, I’ll prefer to die as late as I can.
