I’ve been a serial jaywalker since I could walk. One of my first memories was as a 3 or 4 year old waiting at a busy city intersection, seeing a break in the traffic, thinking to myself, “I can do this, I’m going to make a run for it!” and bolting before my horrified mother grabbed me and pulled me back to the curb.
In a long life of jaywalking, including some episodes which I could only describe as extreme sport, I’ve only really been brought to task once: I was in the middle of crossing the road in Kyoto, Japan when I heard an authoritarian Japanese voice through a megaphone and turned round to see a policeman ordering me to get off the road and wait for the green light.
Earlier this year in London I spent a day in the city with a friend who is visually impaired, leading him around, before realising that I’d spent a day jaywalking with a blind man. When I told him we’d been jaywalking all day he joked, “I’m never coming to town with you again!”
I was recently told that people get fined for jaywalking in Adelaide. Having had my fair share of traffic fines recently, I took this as motivation to reform my ways. So I’ve been trying it out: finding the nearest pedestrian crossing, pushing the cross button, waiting for the green walking person light to come on, etc. While admittedly a bit inconvenient, it’s actually been quite liberating. It gives you a chance to slow down, take a breath and reflect. A little scene even develops amongst the people waiting to cross. If it took longer, you could even imagine people getting to know one another.
This is a metaphor for spiritual practice. A bit of discipline is important in getting to know oneself. While a liberal, bohemian lifestyle initially might seem liberating, it soon turns into a dead end. Believe me, I’ve been there. If you always lie down to relax, when you get tired of lying down there’s no where else to go – you’re already lying down. There’s ultimately no inspiration in that.
A disciplined life, however, gives you a new lease on life. It’s not only safe and efficient, it’s ultimately far more liberating than the laissez-faire approach. If you want to attain greatness, you have to work towards it methodically and systematically. Climbing a mountain takes preparation, practice and perseverance, without which you would never enjoy the view and inspiration from the top.
Spiritual practice is like that. Due to the discipline involved it sometimes means having to do something you wouldn’t ordinarily want to do. But working towards the ultimate goal of inner bliss and a better world is absolutely inspiring compared to being trapped in the trap of sensual and ultimately senseless pleasure and gratification. You can’t beat the view from the top of a peaceful, content and blissful state of being.
Will
Haha!! Awesome! This really put some things into perspective for me. My lifestyle has been so hectic with trying to cram way too much in and doing everything so fast that i actually lose touch with more people the more people that are in involved in these goings on. Time to take it back down to a nice easy pace. Thank you for sharing this amigo 🙂
gunamuktananda
You’re welcome bro!
Amitabha
Good one dada! I was imagining you as a little 3 or 4 yr old jaywalker but you had a mini orange uniform on so I must have been doing it wrong.
You write beautifully.
Aaron
This really is incredibly uplifting. Thank you.
gunamuktananda
Thanks for your comment Amitabha and good to hear from you.
gunamuktananda
You’re welcome brother.
Viniita
Thank you, Dada, for the advice! I am still a “jaywalker” in the streets 🙂
Dorecia U. Craft
This morning I hear, “you are a spiritual jaywalker”. I was so surprised to see this blog on google….this has blessed me. I am struggling trying to walk in my gift and purpose. My word in this message was to be more disciplined in my walk with the Lord. I don’t have any discipline and I have been flying through the air with no net. Good stuff, thanks for sharing.
gunamuktananda
Good to hear from you sister. For an intro into a tried and tested meditation method that will give your path a definite direction, feel free to sign up for this online intro: http://www.anandamarga.org/learn-meditation/
gunamuktananda
Good to hear. Rebels of the world unite! ?