Something crazy happened this morning

Hey man

You aren’t going to believe this but…

Life comes at you fast.

As I sipped my coffee this morning, I glanced up from my phone to see a face of pure terror.

A woman was screaming something in Portuguese in the direction of my 6 o clock.

I took my headphones out.

I traced her glance, looked over my shoulder & saw a man flailing around on the floor having a violent seizure.

4 people sat at their tables, looking confused. Doing nothing.

I have no idea how long this man's episode had gone on for.

But I saw blood spewing from his mouth as his head crashed into the concrete underneath.

Panic hit me like a bucket of water.

I froze for a moment in horror.

But suddenly without thinking, I ran over to him.

He was on his back appearing to be choking on his own blood.

So I put him in the recovery position, something I learned as a fitness instructor.

I held him in place and made sure to cushion his head.

He spat the blood out, clearing his airways.

I put my hand to his mouth to learn that he was still breathing.

At this point, I noticed that he'd shredded his mouth and tongue.

"AMBULANCIA" ... I shouted to the closest person to me.

My Portuguese is shit but thank god I know what that word means.

I shouted for a rolled-up magazine or newspaper to put in his mouth so he wouldn't bite his tongue anymore.

No success.

The minutes it took for his seizure to calm down felt like a lifetime.

But as I issued words of reassurance "Tudo bem" (everything is okay), he slowly regained consciousness.

The ambulance eventually appeared and the professionals took over.

Turns out, he was a local homeless guy with an alcohol problem and epilepsy to boot.

Not a good combination.

They put him in the ambulance and drove away, leaving us all stunned and shaken.

My hands were trembling. Everyone looked horrified but relieved.

As I calmed down, I sat back at my table.

And I reflected...

I had actually been useful in a crisis.

This was a goal I set for myself years ago as I battled chronic anxiety.

To overcome my fear.

Not just because anxiety sucks...

But because chronic anxiety and fear put you in a kind of selfish survival mode.

And knowing you're useless to others isn't a great place to be.

I know for a fact if this episode happened 2 years ago, I would have stood frozen waiting for someone else to act.

I'm not writing this to blow smoke up my ass.

But doing the work on yourself.

The emotional work.

Being able to handle fear.

It's not only so you can approach the girl and get laid.

It's not only about asking for a raise at work or whatever.

Being able to do what needs to be done, even when you're terrified...

It means being someone useful to others.

Someone who can serve other people.

And this could mean everything to someone someday.

You never know what could happen and who might need you.

That's a better reason to grow as a person than any I can think of.

Take care of yourself.

Heal, grow and become the best version of yourself.

And you'll be in a better place to take care of others.

That’s all I wanted to say today.

Big love,

OC