Wednesday, November 30, 2016

People & Things


Someone once said " In order to change you have to change the voices in your head"

That statement was the first line in a preview for a movie, a movie I found I could stream, directly over the internet, to a TV in my bedroom. Incidentally, I didn't watch the movie, but the opening line got me thinking. What do we change? What do we need to change?

There are many things we routinely change. Just that same week my wife decided to change the regular sheets on our bed to flannel sheets because of the drop in winter temperatures. I also changed the tires on my car from regular tires to snow tires. And just in time: within only two days of the first big snowstorm!

Other important things to routinely change are the batteries in smoke detectors, flashlights, and carbon monoxide detectors. I learned about the importance of changing batteries during that same cold week in November. On one of those cold days, in our basement, the alarm in the carbon monoxide detector went off. Not certain if it was just the battery or if we had a dangerous CO leak, we not only changed the battery in the detector, but we purchased a more reliable CO sensor and immediately installed it in the basement.

In the end, it was just a false alarm. There was no deadly carbon monoxide in my basement, but how important was a little thing like a battery or a seemingly unimportant thing like a carbon monoxide detector? Little things, like smoke detectors and seat belts, become big things when emergencies happen. These little things are the things that save lives.

Before the week was over I found I was changing a few more things. The microwave, in my kitchen, went out and my stepkids father, Matt, helped me switch out the old one for a new one. The microwave had to be attached to the wall and cupboards so it took some time to make that change. And after it was finished, I realized it was crooked and I would need to alter and change the position of the microwave, again, so that it would be level.

A few days later my wife noticed that the hot water heater was leaking and would need to be replaced. This would require more time, work and heavy lifting, because unlike the CO detector, or the microwave, the water heater would be a bigger task.

More often than not, however, when we think of change, we think of extreme changes. Sometimes changes in the weather can seem extreme, but usually, they are only temporary and change again within a short period of time. But some storms or earthquakes are deadly and their wrath can change things permanently.

We all have all types of seismic shifts in our lives. These extreme jolts do devastate and disrupt our lives, often displacing us and changing our circumstances. Extremes like war, crime, downsizing, debt, bankruptcy, divorce, disease, and death, leave pain and immense sorrow in their wake. They may alter our lives, but they may not alter our perspective. We assume that the major jolts in our lives will change us. Extremes can do a lot to us but what do they do for us?

What these extremes do to us is not as important as what they do for us, for out of every negative situation can come positive possibilities, no matter how horrible and devastating the situation may be. What we experience has the capacity to change us, if we discover something or learn something from it. Devastating moments can become defining moments in our lives if we let them. More often than not, the change isn't a change in circumstances, it is a change in our hearts.

I am grateful for alarms and warning signs that can also help prevent devastation in the first place. What if there had been CO in my basement? At first, when the alarm went off, we couldn't find the sensor. My wife checked all the fire alarms and replaced all of the batteries, but the alarm still sounded. Finally, she found the CO sensor, changed the battery, but it did not silence the alarm. During that time I searched the internet for information about carbon monoxide.

From the internet, I discovered that carbon monoxide(CO) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is deadly poisonous. It is sometimes called the "silent killer" because, although lethal, it is hard to detect. CO affects the blood stream preventing hemoglobin from carrying oxygen to organs and tissues. It is the product of incomplete combustion of fuels, such as gasoline, propane, natural gas, oil or wood. Where there is fire, there is carbon monoxide.

The issue isn't just detecting the deadly gas, but also finding the real causes of CO poisoning. Often it is the result of a leak. The leak could be from a fuel burning appliance malfunctioning or improperly installed. Furnaces, gas range/stove, gas clothes dryer, water heater, portable fuel-burning space heaters, fireplaces, generators and wood burning stoves, all have the potential to emit harmful levels of carbon monoxide. The poisoning could also be from poor ventilation, like vehicles left running in closed garages.

It is shocking that such a small particulate could have such large effect and deadly outcome.

The CO detector experience reminded me that the purpose or end result of the carbon monoxide alarm system wasn't necessarily to point blame at certain appliances, but to save people's lives.

Earlier in the month, the following inspiration from the Spirit came into my mind: "Things are never more important than people. People are more important than things." As I read, and reread the above statement, I wondered if this idea could be absolutely true. Never seemed like such a strong word to use in this sentence. Was it possible that there was some "thing" more important than people? What about all the important things I had changed that save lives: snow tires, CO detectors, even batteries?

But, in the end, I was reminded, again, that the ultimate purpose was to save people: the people I love.

No comments:

Post a Comment