Power

Power corrupts, as we all know too well. I had an occasion to speak with a local law enforcement officer today about a city ordinance which bans overnight parking on the streets of this fair city. The ordinance, in effect for thirty (30) years, as I was told, has rarely been enforced, it seems. The officer, a charmingly glib fellow, was so embroiled in the system that he could not see the absolute absurdity of most of our conversation. Instead, he referred me to more officials, higher-ups, who might deal with some of the issues I raised about the abuse of space by some who feel entitled to have more than one vehicle per person in their households. I have been struggling with my impulses to seek control in this particular situation. Those impulses are not Buddhist in nature. They are rooted in a childhood which was dominated by policemen, in fact. By remaining detached from my wish for control, I felt a tremendous sense of good energy in my interaction with the beleaguered cop. By relinquishing control, I found afterwards that he had mapped out a very easy path to follow in order to promote more community spirit around the parking issue. Instead of an obstacle, he had become a signpost.