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Apache Awareness Pop Quiz by Mark Hatmaker

 


“You cannot see what you do not see.”—Apache Saying

Remember that saying; we’ll come back to it.

ONE—From where you sit right now, which way is West? No apps, no nada, answer the question.

TWO—What is today’s prevailing wind? Does it differ from yesterdays? If so, what does it predict for today?

THREE—What was/were your loved one[s] wearing as they walked out the door today?

“You cannot recall what you never saw.”

Why the Answers Matter

ONE—From where you sit right now, which way is West? No apps, no nada, answer the question.

[Imagine this scenario.]

911: 911, what’s your emergency?

You: I’m on Oakhurst Street and I just saw a man jerk a young girl into a pick-up truck and take off.

911: On Oakhurst? Which way are they headed?

You: Um…towards that place that sells falafel, uh, you know towards the Interstate.

911: Which Interstate? Do you mean I-75 or I-40?

[Compared to…]

911: 911, what’s your emergency?

You: I’m on Oakhurst Street and I just saw a man jerk a young girl into a pick-up truck and take off.

911: On Oakhurst, which way are they headed?

You: West on Oakhurst.

911: Got it, we’ll get patrol on it now.

TWO—What is today’s prevailing wind? Does it differ from yesterdays? If so, what does it predict for today?

[Imagine this scenario—actually happened over the past two days.]

Me: [Working with my new pup, Tosa Wana on agility and woods skills—I say to the Missus.] Gorgeous weather, winds been a little southerly all morning up till around an hour ago. Starting a gentle shift from the west.

The Missus: And…

Me: If it kicks back south and then west again, we ought to batten down outside furniture and gear, may storm tonight.

[It did. It is. As folks who have been through our August tornado woes, we pay attention to the weather good and bad. It always says something.]

THREE—What was/were your loved one[s] wearing as they walked out the door today?

[Imagine this scenario.]

911: 911, what’s your emergency?

You: I think my daughter is missing; she’s not come home and was supposed to be here over two hours ago.

911: How old is she?

You: Seven.

911: What was she wearing?

You: Um…

You get the picture.

Details matter even when we think they don’t.

In good times and bad, the familiar world around us is speaking to us, laying sign, emitting spoor.

Too often we only turn up the sensory attention [situational awareness] in times of alert or possible concern but…consider that that which pricks our consciousness to attention is often too little too late.

Tales and clues have been there singing their song as soon as you wake up in the morning.

We too often turn off to the familiar thinking we “know” what we see everyday and yet, consider the simple questions we have asked.

“You cannot see what you do not see.”—Apache Saying

The following is from linguistic-anthropologist Keith Basso’s Wisdom Sits in Places. This is a conversation he had with Cibecue Apache horseman, Dudley Patterson.

Basso: What is wisdom?

Patterson’s reply.

“Your life is like a trail. You must be watchful as you go.

“Wherever you go there is some kind of danger waiting to happen. You must be able to see it before it happens…If your mind is not smooth you will fail to see the danger…If you make your mind smooth, you will have a long life. Your trail will extend a long way. You will be prepared for danger wherever you go. You will see it in your mind before it happens. How will you walk along this trail of wisdom? Well, you must go to many places. You must look at them closely. You must remember all of them. Your relatives will talk to you about them. You must remember everything they tell you. You must think about it. You must do this because no one can help you but yourself. If you do this your mind will become smooth. It will become steady and resilient. You will stay away from trouble. You will walk a long way and live a long time. Wisdom sits in places. It’s like water that never dries up. You need to drink water to stay alive, don’t you? Well, you also need to drink from places. You must remember everything about them.”

Situational Awareness, that is, occasional awareness is not the way of the Warriors of Old.

Always Awareness was the Way.

A persistent Opening of the Sensorium.

All the scoutcraft in the world, all the bad-ass tactics you can shake a tin of Black Rifle coffee at are for naught if one does not, cannot see.

For more on persistent always awareness based on Indigenous Warrior Ways have a look at our Suakhet’u Program.

Resources for Livin’ the Warrior Life

The Black Box Store

The Rough ‘n’ Tumble Raconteur Podcast

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