Mine Fields

Yesterday we had a training day out at Coventry.

One of our exercises was to walk our partner through a mine field with only our voice. The partner was blindfolded. I did NOT want to guide anyone. I don't think I'm a good guider. And when they called on me I begged them not to. Yeah, that worked.

So, they blindfolded my partner and I began to freak out a bit. I had chill bumps.

They added a twist. Everyone that wasn't on the mine field made noise. My partner had to concentrate on my voice and I had to stay close to her so she could hear my voice. And I had to stay calm.

I was doing okay until someone started twisting a plastic bottle. That's when I was ready to flatten someone! It was weird. They were putting my partner in danger and I was on the verge of taking them out, but I had to stay focused on her and remain steady.

The point of the exercise was to understand how many of our participants feel all the time. They are constantly bombarded with distractions because of how their brains function.

What got me was how inadequate I felt to guide and how protective I felt about my partner. I was wanting to yell at the person with the bottle that if they didn't stop making that awful noise I was going to hurt them. But, inside me I knew that probably wasn't a good idea.

One of the cool things about Coventry volunteers is that we all get that all of us are special needs in some way or the other. We all have situations or physical difficulties that make us function differently, that cloud our thinking sometimes. Now we get it a little bit more.

And, if you want to take it in a traditional spiritual direction: We have to concentrate on God's voice when we're walking through our mine fields. The great news for us is that He will always be at our elbow and He will always be calm.