Comments (16)

By kilax, March 30, 2009 5:25 am

Steven and I took a gun safety course on Friday – a course we had been wanting to take for some time. We went to the shooting range twice last year. I hoped going would help me overcome my fear of guns, but I still felt pretty nervous when I was there, so we took this class.

The class was different than I thought it would be. I thought it would be pretty textbook – this is a gun, these are the parts, this is how you use it, blah blah blah. But I felt like the class was taught by the zen master of gun safety. He was all about being calm around the weapon – about finding an inner peace and balance. He talked a lot about anticipation, and how someone anticipating the weapon firing is what messes up their shot the most.

That is definitely what MY problem is. My hands are shaking before I even get the gun in the air. I feel like a million electrical currents are running through my blood. The whole time I am putting pressure on the trigger, I am just waiting, waiting… and I am still startled when it fires.

The instructor really helped with that. He talked a lot about mentality, and anticipation. I think he really helped me feel more calm and less fearful. He shared good techniques with us.

I think I could apply some of those techniques to my life OUTSIDE of the shooting range. I have been WAY TOO nervous and anxious lately. Way too impatient. I rush too much. I am always going from one thing to the next. I never really take time to relax. I’m all go go go ALL the time.

It’s time to find some inner focus.

I’ve been trying for some time already. Maybe now I can finally do it. Or at least get one step closer to being less… anxious all the time.

Maybe.