There is a scene in the movie “Bourne Identity” that is very interesting to me.
Jason Bourne has amnesia. He doesn’t even know his name, where he’s from, or anything about his past. He knows he was shot, left for dead, and lucky to be alive. He befriends a lady who tries to help him remember his identity.
In one particular scene, the two are in a restaurant late at night. Jason is showing the lady some of the belongings he’s found. He explains that he has an extreme awareness of his surroundings. She dismisses it as normal, until Jason starts to describe his awareness.
He memorized the license plate numbers of six vehicles when they walked in. He noticed that the waitress is left handed. He intuitively senses that a guy at the counter knows how to fight. He knows the best place to find a weapon is in the cab of a certain truck in the parking lot. He wonders why he knows all of this but can’t remember his own name.
There is a skill taught in certain career fields known as Situational Awareness. In general Situational Awareness is described as the perception of environmental elements and the comprehension of how they relate. It is the practice of intuitively avoiding trouble.
For example, knowing where the exits are in a building is one level of Situational Awareness. Knowing that someone is acting abnormally or poses a danger to you is another level. There are color coded levels of Situational Awareness. The fictional Jason Bourne has the highest level of Situational Awareness possible. For us in the real world, it’s an interesting and valuable skill to practice.
We all practice it on a basic level, some go a little deeper with it and I believe those people are more secure and less vulnerable to danger.
I’ve come up with the name for another skill, although many have taught on it using other names for years.
I call it Spiritual Awareness. I would define Spiritual Awareness like this. The ability to perceive emotional, psychological, and spiritual elements in your own life and in the life of others.
It can be as simple as knowing if something is ultimately beneficial or detrimental for you. But, it can go much deeper than that. Spiritually Aware people can sense when others are hurting, and find a way to help or encourage them. Many rightly identify this idea as spiritual discernment. I like to explain it as an awareness because most people are more familiar with that word.
Unfortunately, there are people with no Situational Awareness, they walk through a dangerous area, oblivious to their surroundings. Also, they may not notice when another is in danger. The same can happen to people with no Spiritual Awareness, they walk right into dangerous situations. Or they neglect to see that a loved one is struggling.
Situationally, we can concentrate on our phones while walking in a parking garage and be targeted by criminals. Or we can focus only on ourselves and not help others stay safe.
Spiritually, we can chase blessings and forget to be a blessing to those around us. We can get wrapped up in ourselves to such a degree that we miss the needs in front of us.
Be Situationally Aware while you’re in public. It can keep you and others from physical harm.
Ask God to help you be Spiritually Aware. It can direct you, correct you, and protect you from emotional, psychological, and spiritual harm.
And if you have this awareness to know when someone is hurting or in need without them saying a word. If you can see into broken hearts, hear the silent cries of the forgotten, and feel the ache of the neglected.
You have a spiritual responsibility to invite, involve, and include them.
God made it clear that if we are open to His work in our lives, we will be made aware of so much more going on around us.
Ask for Spiritual Awareness, seek spiritual growth, knock on the door of spiritual compassion.
God will answer, He will reveal, and He will open the door to opportunities for you to be a blessing.
-Tom Wise
