Juxtaposition - noun - jux·ta·po·si·tion | \ |j|k-st|-p|-|zi-sh|n \

The act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect.

We live in a world of contrasting elements. And as firefighters we operate almost exclusively in the gray area that these contrasting elements create.

When an emergency occurs, it pits the relative calm of normal life with the chaos that is suddenly and unexpectedly thrust upon us. It is our job, our sworn duty, to operate along the thin line between the order of daily life and the uncontrolled chain of events that currently has the upper hand.

At one moment a man is mowing his grass, the next he lies in his yard barely conscious, yet fully aware of his life slipping away.

At another moment, a mother preparing the families evening dinner is suddenly called away by a child, only to return to a kitchen on fire.

A family, heading to an expo center early on a Saturday morning to see farm animals on display, only to be struck by a car running a red light.

This list could go on and on, but there is one thing
that would remain the same throughout all, and that is the juxtaposition of circumstance from the moments leading up to, to the moments just after a life changing emergency.

That area, the gray, is the space between comfort and discomfort, between chaos and order, between peace and unrest, safety and danger.

It is also the area where we are expected to operate, expected to thrive, expected to overcome.

That area of juxtaposition, that area of gray, between the black and white, is the fray that we call home. The fray that we yearn for in the moments of quiet and order.

It is not that we wish harm or loss upon anyone, it’s just the opposite for sure. But it is that fray that defines
us as the first and sometimes only line drawn between those we serve and the misfortune and disorder that has come into their lives.

We have an intimate understanding of the fact that in

our world there exists a gray area and that that gray area is where danger lies. We also understand that it is an inevitability, and being such, when that relative order, that moment of daily tranquility slips from its foundation into the unknown of chaos and calamity, that we want, no, that we need to be there.

It is this mindset, this calling, that defines the juxtaposition between those who serve on the front lines and those whom we serve. It is the willingness to daily step into the fray that sets us apart. It is also that willingness, that calling, however, that requires more from us.

It requires an acknowledgement that we must be ready and willing to, we must be prepared to, that we must without hesitation, step into the fray, to operate in
that gray. To bring control to the forces no longer in control. To bring order to chaos and to bring back calm, peace and normalcy to our communities and to those in them who depend on our services.

It requires from us a commitment to learn more, do more and work harder than the average citizen is willing, so that at a moment’s notice we can respond and carry out our duties on their behalf.

That preparation must occur daily. It requires diligence and a sense of duty. It requires motivation and desire to be good at what we do. To thrive in times and areas where many will falter.

And it is here where we find yet another juxtaposition in our lives. It is here where we find the contrast between those who truly step up to our mission and those who simply do the minimum to get by, yet reap the rewards of this vocation.

It is here where many of us become confused about those who do not fully embrace our calling, those who simply show up to their shift. It is here where many of us become confused by the behavior of those who think so differently from us.

This job comes with so much baggage, so much challenge and residual, that it is hard to understand why one wouldn’t want to be as good as they could. Why someone would only want to meet the minimum standard. Why someone would subject themselves to the visuals and reality of the loss and pain that we see routinely for a paycheck or pat on the back.

It confuses us as we work so diligently and with such dedication to make it through the fray, to get out of the gray. It confuses us that someone does not think the same way.

It confuses us, as we strive to be the best, that someone would consider the easy way out as acceptable, dutiful or honorable.

While juxtaposition and contrasts make for interesting viewing of paintings and photography, they are often much more complex when encountered in the reality of our daily life. Those areas of sharp difference quite often become the space for challenge and battle.

That is why it is of paramount importance for us to understand where these contrasts exist, how they develop and how they can be managed. It is critical
for us to be able to operate efficiently and effectively within them, and because of that, we must develop the skillsets and tools to do so.

Returning chaos to order, bringing peace to unrest, comfort to discomfort and safety to danger is our job. It is what we stood up and swore to potentially give everything in order to accomplish. It is the very reason our service exists.

It is not simply these contrasting factors that shape the world in which we operate, that permeate our communities and that define our firehouses that create challenge for us. Quite honestly it is their diversity that makes each of these things so unique and interesting.

It is rather our own tendency as humans to want to operate solely in the black or white, our desire to not see the juxtaposition rather than to embrace it, our need avoid the things that are different, to ignore those who have divergent thoughts or beliefs and to move away from conflict, that in reality, creates most of the conflict from which we suffer.

If only we all embraced the challenges, if only we all did the required work, if only we allowed ourselves to step freely into the gray, to jump fully into the fray, to learn about and understand the contrasts in our lives.

If only this thing we’re apart of could become what it could become. If only we ‘marched once again into the fray’ in reality the way we tell ourselves and everyone around us we do.

Then and only then might we overcome and move beyond the greatest juxtaposition we face. Then and only then might we overcome ourselves.