I was camping with a friend and we had noticed a strange character observing us.
At this point I was catching a monitor lizard so as to have a closer look at it. The lizard was about six feet long and quite large. I put the lizard down and looked up at this particular individual and as our eyes met he grabbed his crutch and said, ‘What are you looking at?’
His gesture was like a hot-tempered Italian would make to you if you had insulted his mother. I simply smiled and ignored him and went on with my business. But later in the day I discovered he was around our camping site, loitering and looking very suspicious, as if he was going to steal something.
As we approached the campsite he disappeared into the woods behind a tree.I simply said to him, ‘what are you doing there?, and he did not answer so I decided to go down to where he was and see what he was doing.
As I approached him he walked away in haste, grappling with a bag that he had on his back, so I could not see what he was doing, he hid it from me while he walked while grabbing something from within it.
He turned around and walked to me very agitated as I was still walking towards him. I could see that in his hand was a revolver and as he walked the weight of the revolver made his outstretched arm go up and down slightly. I instantly new it was not a replica and that he meant to shoot me. At this point I stopped and looked directly in his face.
As he approached me he pointed the revolver in between my eyes and said to me, ‘Turn around son of a bitch. Face down, arms and legs spread.’ I looked at him and said, ‘No. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to turn around and walk away.’
As I was walking away I was wondering whether he was going to shoot me in the back or whether I had enough power to sustain myself so that this man will walk away in fear of the consequences of his own actions in terms of shooting me.
When I got back to the camp site I turned around and he was gone. Being in a state of non-fear of the consequences of those actions I believe saved my life. I believe if I would have acquiesced to his commands I would not be alive today.
The power of my truth told me to turn around and say what I did. If the power of my truth would have said disarm him and take him down, I would have. If I succeed or fail is not the point. It is how I live and die that is the issue for me.
Whoa Lujan, glad you came out unscathed!
I can’t imagine the feeling you felt when walking away from him.
I think you did the right thing there, also who knows what may have happened had you not confronted him by asking what he was doing and following him??
Somebody pulled a knife out on my once. He stood very close to me, our eyes were met and he asked me to look down. I didn’t because I knew I wouldn’t like what I would see. So I remained starring at him. He raised the knife to my eyeline. When he asked me for my posessions I had on me my internal dialouge immediately stated that I shouldn’t be a coward for doing as he wished and what would my family think of me as this ‘coward’. However, fortunately, I was wise enough to acquiesce with the guy’s commands and was never hurt.
I look back and laugh at my internal dialouge now. Seems so ridiculous! I feel fortunate that all I lost was a bit of money and my phone. The biggest loss was being worried in similar situations since. i.e. walking alone at night and hearing someone behind me.
However, I am just thankfull I’m all ok.