One of the core disciplines required in Practicing the Art of Personal Safety is the 3A’s. With practice, patience and time they can be developed and used to our advantage. They are part of the Avoidance technique,
“The Art of Fighting Without Fighting.”
The first A stands for Aware. Which simply means: having the knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.
Being Aware of where we are within our surroundings gives us an advantage of “situational” awareness (we will touch on this in a different post). There is so much knowledge we can gather from our surroundings in the present moment. The “present” is where all things happen and there’s always something happening.
Awareness is practicing being in the here and now, so we can enjoy the moment by being in the moment. Throughout the day we spend most of our time either in the past or in the future. It is a rare experience when we are “right” here, “right” now. Time is all we have. We cannot re-create it once it is gone, it is gone. We take Time for granted when we are not in the “present” moment enjoying and living it.
There is so much happening in the “present.” We have the knowledge and perception when we begin to notice things happening in front of us. The facts are undeniable. There is so much going on that we have to block out most of it. We labeled them as distractions or noises. These distractions or noises are part of our surroundings and let us know where things are in our spatial distance. Enjoy them! Use them!
The second A stands for Alert. This simply means: being vigilant, quick to notice any unusual and potentially dangerous or difficult circumstances or situations.
When it comes to enjoying our daily living, we need to be alert and vigilant. We should always be in the proactive/preventative mindset. Being proactive/preventative mindset is like having a 6 sense of what will occur if a certain course of action was taken.
It is noticing what does not feel right within our immediate surroundings or situation. When we are not being Alert we can be walking into a situation we cannot handle despite all the personal safety techniques we have learned. Having the skills of Alertness will help us avoid situations that will put our lives in danger.
The third A stands for Attentive. Which simply means: paying close attention to something.
I was always taught to pay attention, pay close attention when in an unfamiliar place. Being Attentive has helped me out of so many situations. When I have a gut feeling about talking to someone or going into some place I am not comfortable with, I simply listen to my gut feeling and avoid the situation.
We all can tell when something is out of place or when something does not feel right. We all have experienced these feelings, but most of the time we ignore them because of our personal fear of what others might think of us.
The 3A’s of the Art of Personal Safety is just one discipline that will help us live a life that is fully immersed in the here and now so we can live to experience the day, and all the days to come. Being Aware, Alert, and Attentive allows us to be in a life that can be enjoyable and memorable.
Practicing the 3A’s of the Art of Personal Safety teaches us to be conscious and accept the possibilities that dangers lurk within our surroundings. Having the choice to be Aware, Alert and Attentive give us the freedom to live in the “present” moment where we can have personal self-control of ourselves.
You are defending yourself, the moment you start to be Aware, Alert, and Attentive.
WE are worth defending because WE are worth it!
The Art of Personal Safety is NOT about FAIRNESS, it is about SURVIVAL.
“LIVE IN AWARENESS, NEVER IN FEAR.”
