Batteries not Included
The tree is decorated the best it has ever been. Every year it gets better because some how every year more memories get captured in the tree. Whether it be physical memories in the form of an annual collectors ornament, or perhaps hand made ornaments made lovingly by little children and adults alike. Or maybe just the process of decorating the tree, spending time around it, and waking up to the sight Christmas morning and remembering all the past years spent in that same place.
Maybe your family has grown, maybe your family has experienced loss. Maybe you don’t celebrate Christmas. Either way, no one can escape the time of year that it is and as we all celebrate in our own way and by our own means, its a special time in many different ways.
For a lot of families, especially with children, the more Christmas’ you experience, the more ‘prepared’ you tend to get. Sitting down to opening gifts with scissors and batteries at the ready.
The further into the future we get, the more batteries and charging cords are seemingly required.
As this rings true mostly for children, as adults we are finding ourselves more and more connected to walls and outlets and chargers.
The security world is constantly evolving with new technology. Cameras, computers, radios, night vision, scanners, detectors. Everything needs to the the latest and greatest. Each company boosts about the latest technological device they recently acquired making them better than the others.
But does all the latest and greatest, technology must haves – does this really make the service better?
Have we grown so much as a society that we’ve lost the human touch? We rely so heavily on technology that we forget to work on the things that make us… well… human.
Talking, interacting, spending time face to face – in real life. Less screen time, more real time.
In security we will still always use technology to our advantage. Cameras, video footage, radios.
There are things that are almost seemingly impossible to live without.
We use radios to communicate when we aren’t in the same area.
We use camera’s as eyes when we can’t be in all places at once.
We use video footage as memory to tell us what happened, what time, and where.
These are things that make a life in security that much easier.
And for those outside of a security career, these are still things that make us feel that much safer. More secure and more at ease.
We’ve gone from a generation that left their doors to their homes and cars unlocked, to a generation that wires their home so that anyone that steps foot near their property sets off motion detector lights and is imbedded permanently on recorded video footage.
Children freely roamed the streets using street lights as their beacon for home time.
Now we’re arming our children with cell phones and tracking devices. Every move they make is intensely monitored and tracked.
While we may have thought as children that robots would do a lot of the work for us at some point, did we really expect that we’d practically become robots ourselves?
Are we forgetting how to be human?
In security, its important to never forget to be human – and how to treat other humans.
As reassuring as technology can be at times, there is still no better feeling than a calming word, a silent nod, a friendly smile, or a pat on the back to know that everything is ok.
How we speak to others, how we treat others, and how we act and react to various situations, are all reflections of ourselves and those we work with and for.
Your parents always told you to treat others the way you would want to be treated, and while this can take a back seat in some situations where the need to be more forceful arises – it should still always be in the forefront of our minds when we’re dealing with people.
Guest Blogger Rayna Davies
Rayna Davies is a graduate and practitioner of Business Management. She has developed an expertise in blogging, covering subjects like travel, world events and security. Having grown up with a father who has developed an expertise in Physical Security and Executive Protection in the RCMP and two major corporations, she has personally observed and 
experienced many security details. These experiences have included personally meeting HM Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and many celebrities. She presently assists Sentinel Security in Executive Protection workshops and guest blogging and also assists Gloprosec Preventative Services in Intelligence gathering and Business Administration. Her passions include World travel, having visited every continent.
