Emergencies are based on perception. What’s urgent to me may not even register at all to you. And in a culture where we are inclined to be verbally emphatic over things that are bordering on mundane (I’m reminded of Julian Treasure, in one of his TED Talks, when he asks what he’s supposed to call something he sees that is actually awesome since just about everything is labeled awesome!), sometimes calls for urgent help or an emergency situation are look at with skeptical eyes—is the user of the word urgent just having an moment of increased inflection?
Because I am a connector and a promoter by nature, I fall into this perception trap at times. When I’m reading and loving a book, I seek out those in my life who need to read this too—I’ll often send them copies. I can’t fathom them taking another step in their lives without infusing this work of fiction or non into their realm. When I’m introduced to a product that’s awesome, I always buy extras because I know someone who just needs this. This week, it’s the lip exfoliator by Younique—it’s vegan, cruelty-free, deliciously flavored and works great. I used it once, then ordered another for my mom, then told everyone with lips that they need one.
So you might think it’s in my excitable nature to see emergencies in situations that truly aren’t that urgent. I’m sure I was guilty of that in my early rescue days, as most new volunteers are. Particularly because we deal with life or death, survival or suffering situations, every case can have the perception of urgency. But as one of the “big picture” people in our group, I’m tasked with, often quickly, prioritizing cases and differentiating between perceived and actual emergencies. And I think I’m good at it. I’ve developed a knack for delegating and managing and I’m damn lucky to be a part of a solid, dedicated and selfless team.
This past week was a week of emergencies: a rescued stray who needed urgent transport for veterinary care (thank you Jessica and Lauren for making that happen); a foster bun who fell ill and needed medical care (shout out to Michael and Victoria); and a sanctuary rabbit who is fighting for her life as I type this (Zulia and Tom come through again!). Our group doesn’t operate out of a facility; all of our rabbits are fostered in private homes, so there aren’t doctors on staff, a room away from the rabbits in need. Our island is 118 miles long and the rabbit-savvy veterinarians are sometimes an hour (or more) drive from a foster home or rescue scene. In addition to those 3 medical emergencies, we had 3 new rescue intakes and one adoption this week—that’s a busy set of days (I realize I keep saying week, but this all went down Wednesday-Saturday).
But it’s all about balance, right? Good thing I have some Peace and Calming to get me through the Urgent and Alarming…