Six months ago I was driving through the Nullarbor Plain in the middle of the Australian outback, on my way back from Perth to Adelaide. It was the middle of summer, I had the windows down with the hot desert air blowing in, and to relieve the boredom of another long day’s drive I was driving straight down the middle of the road (which wasn’t dangerous, by the way, as I could see to the horizon and there wasn’t another vehicle in sight coming the other way). But there was one creeping up behind me. Who would have thought that a police car would appear out of thin air in the middle of nowhere and ticket me for not sticking to my lane? Well, that’s exactly what happened!
At the time I had been thinking about how to do some kind of social service in Adelaide and I got it into my head to apply for community service to pay off the fine on the basis of being a voluntary worker. I also started thinking, wouldn’t it be good if this could also be an opportunity to teach meditation to people in need. Well, that’s exactly what happened.
Yesterday I did my first day of community service at the main depot where they sought used clothes for the Salvation Army, and where quite a few other people do community service for one thing or another because of financial hardship. And it just so happened that the people running it are really open to meditation and us practicing it there. So we had a really nice session in the morning before we started work, with people sharing afterwards how they have been working on turning their lives around from past traumas such as childhood abuse, kidnapping (yes, that’s right) and various other things. It was a great lesson for me on how the human spirit can overcome incredibly adverse experiences. And also on how a brush with the law can be turned into an opportunity for service and redemption.
Postscript (23 August 2016):
Last week I finished my time at the correctional facility where I’ve been working off my traffic fine. Most of the people there are from disadvantaged backgrounds, but even so they were open to and interested in meditation. It helped, of course, that the supervisors were too and actively encouraged participation in the sessions. Each time I was there we did a group meditation and the sessions gradually increased in attendance. For our last session the sun came out after weeks of rain and we all sat meditating under a tree outside. It was a beautiful scene. I wanted to take a photo of it but wasn’t able to due to confidentiality restrictions. But here’s the picture: the sunlight shone through the leaves of the tree, falling in a dappled pattern on the group; softening faces hardened by daily hardship, neglect and abuse, reflecting the light of the meditation softening and illuminating their hearts and minds. Their faces really conveyed the bliss of the inner light they were experiencing. It’s really heartening to see that this kind of thing can happen in what could otherwise just as well be another place of oppression, but instead, because of the good-heartedness of the people running it, they have made it a place of love and light. I believe it’s a sign of the times: that despite the personal and social problems we are currently experiencing, we are in fact moving fast into a loving, compassionate and enlightened future.
Corrections Crew
Thanks Dada for helping to convey the light into a place that could have been a place of darkness. We appreciate the opportunity for us to have seen that we all have an inner light too and we agree with the words that you have written. We wish you well on your journey and may you bring the light to many as we know you will.
From the corrections crew.