This is part of the grateful series.

There was a power outage in my neighbourhood recently.

I was just entering my home, at around 2AM, when suddenly all the lights shut off. The timing aligned perfectly with my entrance, so I immediately assumed I had done something.

It was only till I turned around and was met with the spooky scene outside. All the street lights were shut off, and the street was engulfed in complete darkness.

It was eerie, but there was a sense of serenity in it all.

It had then dawned on me that the power outage was larger than my house. It was likely a grid failure.

I had just gotten in from shooting some baskets outside. My routine is to normally drink some water, hop in the shower, and get in bed. Without any light, this routine was disturbed. It’s interesting how dependent we are on electricity, and how little we can do when the resource is taken from us.

On reflection I had most definitely felt a sense of helplessness – perhaps even incompetence. As a result of the strong reliance and dependence on our social structure, I’m not equipped with any of the fundamental skills that one might need to survive, without said electricity.

For instance, I don’t know – in practice – how to start a fire or purify water. While theoretically it’d boil down to leveraging friction to generate heat beyond a threshold, I simply haven’t actually done it.

I’m without a doubt grateful for the access I have to electricity, realizing that what I deem a basic need isn’t yet accessible to everyone.

To lose electricity and feel lost is a blessing and a signal of fortune. To not be lost without electricity is being used to the lack thereof, a circumstance I myself cannot begin to understand.