Your friend is in the line of fire. You see a disaster coming. You know that your friend/loved one IS going to get hurt. If you step in there is a good chance that not only your friend but both of you will need to be rescued. If you let the action play out you could probably rescue your friend. There is the chance that by stepping in your friend could avoid injury all together but, more likely, both of you will need attention. What do you do, step in and take the onslaught too or wait so that you can get your friend out?
I ask this because if you really give this some thought it's a pretty complex question. I was actually in this situation. I saw my friend running into this danger and yelled at him to stop. He didn't hear me in time. I realized that he wasn't going to stop. I didn't yell soon enough but luckily his reflexes are quick (or maybe he's just lucky) and he avoided injury. I had made my desicion, though. I stopped and let my friend continue on just as a reaction, not as a conscience desicion. I would have dragged the guy out but I did not follow him in.
NOT A WEIRD QUESTION In a live fire situation the first , second, third, and millionth answer is keep cool and keep your head. Survival of yourself is important because if your dead ain't nobody helping anybody. That doesn't always mean staying out of harm's way. But it does mean following the rule of not going in until you know how to get out! Your friend needing to be rescued and your seeing the danger (and not putting yourself in the same trap) probably would have saved you both and saved any other possible victim. You are a warrior girl and a woman of courage. Trust those instincts and don't doubt your heroes heart. His luck and your intuition (unconscious though it was) saved everybody in the situation. Reaction? Not a conscious decision? May be we should discuss the difference between subconscious and unconscious. Or subconscious operates in several ways that are manifest in behavior...like the reflex (or reaction) of jerking our fingers back from an open flame. Our unconscious would influence the nightmares of seeing our friend killed or hurt in the situation and beating ourselves up with guilt because we didn't die or get hurt with him. Our conscious decisions, like trying to warn him and keeping yourself out of harm's way, are influenced by both subconscious and unconscious elements of our psyche. And in this situation not only was your action influenced by your brain but also by your heart. Fear is a reaction...courage is a rational choice.
An interesting question! I'd love to see more response.
__________________
Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit Called or uncalled, God is present
I must agree with Bear, lomoduin. Having you both jump into the danger would have served noone, especially if there was no third party to assist the both of you or at least call for backup. We have all heard of two or more people drowning because of a rescue attempt gone tragically wrong.
Concience or unconcience decisions.....or angelic intervention.....it served you both well. Don't second guess yourself. What happened is done and it turned out well.
So what you're saying is that you either watch a friend head into the situation alone, and trust to luck, or you go in there to help, and trust to luck?
Please clarify!
__________________
Utúlie'n aurë! Aiya Eldalië ar Atanatári, utúlie'n aurë! Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva!
