To Do No Further Harm

Today was a very tiring day. We had our Basic Life Support and CPR training. Most of the day was spent on lectures, but nevertheless, we learned a lot. But what got me thinking was something one of the lecturers said. He was answering a question about CPR, particularly the complications and how to avoid them. He said that the principles of life support was to promote life, rescue and revive the injured, and do no further harm, then imposed that the last one, DO NO FURTHER HARM, isn't as sure as the other two. He pointed out that sometimes, CPR breaks a rib of two, but that doesn't mean we have to stop the procedure. The broken bone is not our concern, as we were trained as First-Aiders, not orthopedics. To think that I'd get a life lesson our of something like CPR.

In CPR, where we give pressure to the chest, there will be times that a rib may crack or even break off. But we still need to revive the patient, even if it means disregarding the broken rib until the patient has regained consciousness and can be considered alive. It made me realize that some things that are beneficial can do harm, not only to us, but may be to others.

You may think that it would be cruel to hurt someone just to benefit someone else. Yes, it is cruel, but it is also a reality we have to face. May be it conscious or not, it happens and we cause it more than we could ever know. Think about it. Have you ever had a friend that's exceptionally nice and caring for you, yet you go for someone other than said friend? What do you think would run through his or her mind as you see someone else? Or are you that friend, who keeps distance whenever your beau sees someone he/she prefers over you?

It's a vicious cycle. You love him/her, he/she loves someone else. Someone loves you, but you don't love him/her back. It's like a wheel, going round and round and round.

And it's also true that we sometimes hurt the ones we love. I know of that far too well for my own sake. We do faults that we don't even see for ourselves as a fault, yet it shatters the hearts of those who care for you. We get hurt for things we can't explain, and what's worse is the culprit doesn't even know of it as well.

To hurt someone while doing something beneficial or maybe even life-saving is inevitable. It's just a matter of prioritization and surveying who and how we hurt someone.

So be wary of the things you do. Remind yourself of the complications of even the most noble of intentions and actions that we desire to act out.