The previous week I was able to discuss finding a simple moment while out and about in the woods. Being able to retreat to a place where one can think has a very tangible value. It allows us to weigh our current undertakings, our efforts, directions we look forward to heading, and time to enjoy the moment. However, there is a challenge in taking ones positive mentality from those calm moments, and finding a way to apply it to times when facing the fire.

A 96 hr shift, the cat scan is out at the local hospital meaning most patients will require transfers to the next town over, a biker rally taking place the next two days, and a Saturday night. These cards lie before me and are certainly stacked against us as it is about to get really busy in the world of EMS.

Tones start dropping, phones ringing, and we’re off for a sleepless night. Transfers to Santa Fe, fights breaking out around town, and the true emergencies keep us rolling from call to call. The siren does not slow with use, and as the night gets darker on this moonless evening, the emergency lights pierce it with a deeper contrast. Between calls, I find myself longing for a bed to shut out the crazy summer night. But instead, only a moment of hesitation in the ER before heading out again. Maybe it is the heat of the summer night, but when it goes, inertia seems to take over.

The ice water from the machine however is a small victory to the senses. A moment to enjoy a hot cup of coffee with my colleague while staring out at the threatening skies, is that much more enjoyable, and the eventual sunrise after the night that wouldn’t end, yields the previously elusive light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps then in the thick of the storm, there is reason to place that much more importance in focusing on the little things… at least till sunrise comes around and a moments rest is finally within reach.

A sunrise over Barkley Sound… always more beautiful after the storm