Oxygyn Masks

Ok, so, how many of you pay attention to the flight attendant's announcement before we take off on a plain about safety instructions? Pretty much no one right? Well, maybe the first time you paid attention because you pretty much knew that plain was going to crash, and you would have live through a traumatic and ironic moment, but once the plain landed, you realized that flying was really safe after all. But really, they say some pretty interesting stuff when they are about to take off.

Ever wonder why you have to put your tray and seat in the upright position when you fly? I don't know either, if you do, please let me know.

But more importantly, do you remember what happens when the cabin pressure goes down in the plain? Yes, the yellow masks come down. And what happens? Yes, people panic. In the movies, when the yellow masks are coming down, you know that plain is about to go down...or at least maybe not down, but it is about to drop 10,000 feet before the pilot can dramatically turn the plain around and stabilize it. So, assuming there was no panic in the plain, what do they tell you to do when the yellow masks come down? Well, put it on your face, duh. Everyone knows that. But there is one situation that makes this very important. If you are traveling with small children and they can't put on their own mask then what? Those kids need oxygen too, and you not only have a obligation, but also a responsibility to help them get to their mask.

So, what do you do? Help the child first. Wrong. You help the child second. Correct! That's at least what the flight attendants say during the safety instructions as well. Why do you help yourself first, and not your own children? Do you let the children suffer? Well, kinda, but not totally.

If you don't put your own mask on first, you can't help anyone else. In other words, If you don't help yourself, you can't help others. And sometimes life comes down to that too. You just need to play the selfish card to be able to take care of your basic needs before you can assist others. Maslow would say that you need to be able to achieve the basic levels of needs before you can achieve the higher levels of needs. These higher levels include, social needs, self esteem needs, and many psychological needs. If we can't reach or achieve satisfaction levels at the lower needs which are typically physiological needs, we aren't able to move forwards. For example, someone that was homeless and didn't have a place to sleep wouldn't really have the time to satisfy the area of friendships or self esteem normally. Once they move to a shelter, they might start making friends, but only after they have gotten off the streets, and are able to not be worried about shelter or food.

This week was a perfect example of that. I couldn't help but question my own values, and trying to figure out what my place was, and where I fit into the bigger picture. With all of the negative issues surrounding this week, there were things I need to take care of even if appeared that I was being selfish. I might have lost some friends through this act of selfishness. And that's fine by me. The most important thing is that I stuck to my thoughts and I was able to be selfish when it mattered to me the most. Maybe I didn't have a choice. But, the one choice I did make was a purely selfish one. Maybe I am tired, and maybe this is the transition that I have been looking for all along. Maybe some friendships aren't meant to last, maybe some friendships are supposed to make it through. I am not sure if the call I made was right or wrong. But I don't care. Not one bit. Because after all, I get to put my own oxygen mask over my own head first. It's what I need to do in order to breath better.