CF_Mathews
Patron
…Don’t Let This Happen to You!
If this helps just one other person to never go through this, then it was all worth it….
It was late at night. I was making potpourri out of some old tea and needed a small glass jar to put it in. I keep my collection of jars in the basement, which is not merely unfinished-it was completely gutted during mold remediation and has yet to be put back together. I figured I’d go down there and it would take about a minute to get the jar I wanted. I was rummaging through the jars, frustrated because I could not find the one I wanted, and… all the lights went out. My first thought was, “Seriously? No problem, I’m a prepper, I can totally do this.” I wasn’t nervous until I realized I was lost in a cluttered, dangerous basement with no light. There are a few small windows, but I was nowhere near them and no light was coming in anyway, because the street lamps were out too.
It is hard to conceive of zero light if you’ve never experienced it. Usually, there’s some light. Total darkness feels claustrophobic, like you’re wrapped in a big black blanket. It is terrifying when there is no difference between closing your eyes and opening them. It doesn’t take long to become disoriented and begin to panic. The brain seems to compensate by constructing its own reality. This is probably a survival mechanism, but one that was not working well for me. I decided to keep feeling in one direction along the wall and eventually I should recognize something and know where I was. But my brain continued to construct a false reality, telling me I was in a certain area even though it made no sense. I felt helpless. I yelled to my husband but he couldn’t hear me because he was in bed all the way upstairs with the door shut. My dog was no use either. After about ten minutes, the lights came back on. I was not at all where I thought I was. I had walked right past the stairs and didn’t realize it. My perception of space had been altered without the sense of sight. After running back up the stairs, I thanked God for getting me out of there and then curled up on the couch and ate a pint of chocolate ice cream.
What should I have done? When things weren’t making sense, I should have been willing to break out of the comfort zone my brain was creating and see other possibilities. I should also have kept a flashlight on my person, one I knew was working well…or a well-charged cellphone. A situation like this could quickly become life and death in something like a flood, fire, earthquake, etc. Basements are particularly dangerous in floods due to the risk of electrocution. Not being able to find your way out could be that much worse if you are hurt or with a child or elderly person.
I believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe God sent me this experience so I could learn from it and help prevent it from happening to others (because this is so important, see more just below-its a bit funny too
)…
If this helps just one other person to never go through this, then it was all worth it….
“For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.”
Psalm 22It was late at night. I was making potpourri out of some old tea and needed a small glass jar to put it in. I keep my collection of jars in the basement, which is not merely unfinished-it was completely gutted during mold remediation and has yet to be put back together. I figured I’d go down there and it would take about a minute to get the jar I wanted. I was rummaging through the jars, frustrated because I could not find the one I wanted, and… all the lights went out. My first thought was, “Seriously? No problem, I’m a prepper, I can totally do this.” I wasn’t nervous until I realized I was lost in a cluttered, dangerous basement with no light. There are a few small windows, but I was nowhere near them and no light was coming in anyway, because the street lamps were out too.
It is hard to conceive of zero light if you’ve never experienced it. Usually, there’s some light. Total darkness feels claustrophobic, like you’re wrapped in a big black blanket. It is terrifying when there is no difference between closing your eyes and opening them. It doesn’t take long to become disoriented and begin to panic. The brain seems to compensate by constructing its own reality. This is probably a survival mechanism, but one that was not working well for me. I decided to keep feeling in one direction along the wall and eventually I should recognize something and know where I was. But my brain continued to construct a false reality, telling me I was in a certain area even though it made no sense. I felt helpless. I yelled to my husband but he couldn’t hear me because he was in bed all the way upstairs with the door shut. My dog was no use either. After about ten minutes, the lights came back on. I was not at all where I thought I was. I had walked right past the stairs and didn’t realize it. My perception of space had been altered without the sense of sight. After running back up the stairs, I thanked God for getting me out of there and then curled up on the couch and ate a pint of chocolate ice cream.
What should I have done? When things weren’t making sense, I should have been willing to break out of the comfort zone my brain was creating and see other possibilities. I should also have kept a flashlight on my person, one I knew was working well…or a well-charged cellphone. A situation like this could quickly become life and death in something like a flood, fire, earthquake, etc. Basements are particularly dangerous in floods due to the risk of electrocution. Not being able to find your way out could be that much worse if you are hurt or with a child or elderly person.
I believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe God sent me this experience so I could learn from it and help prevent it from happening to others (because this is so important, see more just below-its a bit funny too
)…
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