I've been mugged at gun point. And at blade point. Nothing serious, I got used to walking around without anything of personal value. Without anything I'd fight for. The first time was in Peru, we were travelling and went to the wrong neighborhood. They got a few coins from us, and they took my friends Walkman. For those who remember the days - a Walkman is a device that plays cassettes. Like SD card with music, plugged into a cellphone and making music come out of headphones. With cables. Those that have foam around them, the kind of foam that makes you cringe touching it. Or at least me.
Anyway, that was in 2012. Nobody used Walkmans anymore back then. Even I had a cheap MP3-Player. So, the muggers, some quite young boys, were a bit flabbergasted and confused. My friend told them what it was and that it was of no value, and given the state and the cheap plastic, it really wasn't, so they returned it.
But that wasn't any real danger at all. Neither that nor the other robbery afterwards. Material stuff. I did many things that were a danger to my bodily integrity, climbing mountains without gear, driving my bike so drunk I ended up in thorny bushes, having a truck fall on my leg, a pot of oil exploding in my hands, and so on. I still have the scars.
But I survived.
I've been taking more care of my body since I have people to live for, and that is honestly the most dangerous part of life. Love. I'll personally fade eventually, good or bad, and I've made my peace with that, to a point that I don't care much. If it wasn't for those around me.
Love.
That stuff is dangerous. It kills every instinct of survival, anything that preserves one's self. It makes you think of others instead of just yourself. Caring for your loved ones, caring for your community, basically caring for anything that does not serve your own interest in the first place.
That's some real danger.
Because you could make the wrong choice each step of the way, hurting someone or getting hurt, or both. In the ever valid dichotomy of every society when push comes to shove - me or we?
We.
That's my answer, most of the time. I was always lucky enough to experience the power of community. Many times over. The good power and the bad power. There's danger in that too. As is in everything, all the time, and that's fine. The solution is as most of the times, with most things in life - accept it as part of reality.
What are your thoughts about this topic? Please feel free to engage in any original way, including dropping links to your posts on similar topics. I'm happy to read (and curate) any quality content that is not created by LLM/AI.
Post written for the #weekend-engagement by 
This is my response to:
Have you ever been in a dangerous situation? What was it, how did you deal with it and how has it changed what you do moving forward?
Thank you for reading!
