Thursday 12/02/15

Being in the dark isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, it can work to your advantage. How well do you know you own home? I'm not talking about the contents, I mean the floor plan. Do you know it well enough so you can walk around in the dark, without bumping into things? "Why would I bother doing that, when I can just switch the lights on?", I hear you ask. That's a fair question.

Being comfortable with the dark has several advantages. The obvious one is when you wake up in the middle of the night; you are able to navigate through your home without turning the lights on and disturbing the rest of your family. The same applies if you are unfortunate enough to experience a power outage at night. In both situations, it is useful to be able to safely and confidently walk to the nearest light switch or torch. It's a little embarrassing to witness adults panic about a sudden, temporary loss of lighting in their own home.

On a more serious note, if there is a fire in your building, smoke will rapidly reduce your visibility to zero. To escape, you will probably be on your hands and knees and have to crawl. Remember, smoke rises. The cleanest air is down low. If you can walk through your house in the dark, finding the exit during a fire shouldn't be too difficult. But what about holiday accommodation? Even when you are on holidays, it is imperative you know where your nearest fire exit is. After you put your gear in your motel room, go back into the corridor and walk the path from your room to the fire exit. Count the number of doors between your room and the exit. The reason for counting doors is so you know how far away the fire exit is when the corridor is full of smoke, reducing your visibility to zero. If you have to crawl, keep close to the wall with the doors, so you can touch each one as you pass it.

Another issue for darkness is home security. Usually, if you hear a strange noise at night, your first reaction is to turn on all the lights and hope it will discourage whoever is causing the noise. There may be an occasion where it is more advantageous to silently approach the source of the noise the dark and observe the situation, before you act. Darkness gives you the element of surprise, allowing you a few extra moments to make a decision; whether you choose to retreat, call the police, or take other some other course of action.

Darkness doesn't have to be a hindrance. Just like any other situation, be willing to work with your environment.