Everyman's WEEKLY Journal #85
©2014 Rev. David Seacord
September 21, 2014
Finding Courage in No Man's Land
I've been waterfasting for the last couple days, mostly from feeling a strong need to cleanse the levels of accumulated toxins in my body that are being evidenced by some persist skin eruptions that are unusual for me, but also correspondingly, doing a sort of vision quest. (And, is just two days fasting, marked improvement in said skin condition has already occurred. Yea waterfasting!) It's still in the triple digits here in Arizona, and, as I don't normally utilize air conditioning, it's been a 'warm, sweaty ride', laying, usually naked, on my trifold sleeping mat, with two fans keeping the air moving to help me stay somewhat comfortable between my several sorta-cold showers each day.
I spoke last week a bit about being a 'wanted man' for the first time in my life. Of course this week I have been in action about that, but I also report now that other significant changes have occurred in other areas too that have changed my world. The net result is that I find I am being in a kind of no man's land of newness and unfamiliarities… in a way, stripped of normally assumed certainties. I find myself engaged with deep questions about 'the future', and what I would truly desire to create and contribute to this world during the remainder of this existence.
There is a lot to contemplate. I look at my basic nature, that I am inclined to be reclusive and to live quietly but that I also do enjoy loving society and occasionally being the center of attention. That I am single, and that while accepting that, that I do have a hope that it will not be forever. That I am a very heartfelt man and desire to harm no one, yet that I also intensely love and passionately claim my freedom to make my own choices--as long as I am not harming another.
I look at the greater world that I exist within, a world so overwhelmed with wars and widespread suffering that my heart is impaled by it every time I have the courage to examine the truths of it. I look at my ego's survival concerns, in terms of environmental degradation, economic survival (i.e., if I leave Yuma, where in the world can I live that is truly 'safe', and still make a living?), how to navigation within the planets choices of legal systems (in most of the world, should I expatriate, the rights we are still able to claim within our English common-law sourced legal system do not exist). I feel into my soul's callings, my sometimes a bit shaky willingness to trust that Love is present everywhere despite all appearances, I dig for my heart's courage to find the strength to be true to my Self.
While doing all this, the outer world continues. For instance, this week I received the message that, after more than 30 years of continuous and loyal service, I have been suddenly replaced by a lower bidder and will no longer be used by the New Mexico LDS churches as their piano tuner. So abruptly, my counted-on annual +/- $15,000 'financial security blanket' has just up an disappeared. There are reasons to celebrate this (as it has, in recent years, been very taxing and painful on my body to do this huge contract, and I have dreaded that part of it), there are other reasons to feel fearful (will there be enough of a viable art market in the foreseeable future to support me, for instance). I look at the fact that, though I am not in danger of bankruptcy if I miss a paycheck as so many people are, that my current cash savings will only buy me a few months of transition time before 'art' or 'something else' must be created to pay the bills. I see I am going to, of necessity, have to start making 'making money' a priority.
I look at my lifelong dreams, some which still call to be manifested. I'm a spiritual musician, but that particular gift has never been successful in a commercial sense, at least not yet. I wonder if it is still a possibility and what would be the path to accomplishing that. Also as you know, I love to write, yet there are already so many other great wordsmiths competing for attention. And if I have something to say that is actually essential to contribute to this world, what is it? I wonder if what I have to say that would be valuable might also be dangerous to say. Probably, yes, I realize, and my personal survival desires kick in. I look at how much I say here, for instance, and where I draw the line… in other words, exactly how much of my truth am I willing to be utterly truthful about.
Well… this is what a vision quest is always all about. Deepening, finding personal courage, committing to stay the journey of the heart. So, this is my report on all that, for now.
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I'll move on and give you a little report on my being a wanted man. I'll start out by saying, it's a very interesting space. It's like being in prison already, in a way, or, as Prasad once said, being in a cage with a tiger about to pounce if your attention drifts for even a nano second. This is because having a warrant out means that any interaction with law enforcement where they would habitually run me through their computers will create the inconvenience of being arrested and held, at least while the warrant issuing party is contacted to see if they wish to extradite me. The answer to that in all likely hood will come back "NO", as normally (from what I have gathered from the research that I have done) most municipalities will not spend the money to send an officer more that 25 to 50 miles away to bring in someone for a speeding citation charge. But, it could take a while for that message of 'no, we're not coming to get him' to come back to the arresting agency, so that would mean a few hours to a couple days in jail, waiting to be released. That kind of interruption to normal life is survivable, but not particularly desirable, right? Especially if your car gets towed, and you have to pay for that too. And, a warrant does cause other problems, as in for instance, because there is a state to state compact, I am in receipt of a notice from the State of New Mexico that if I do not resolve this matter within 60 days, they will suspend the drivers license that they have on record as having issued me, and of course, if that happens, insurance companies get notified, etc ad nauseum. So, while it is not a true immediate crisis of liberty, eventually it's a situation that is designed to entangle one's life and makes it more and more difficult to navigate.
[A Sidebar] Last Friday (8 days ago) I almost got arrested just being myself. It was all about some road repairs, where the turn lanes and straight ahead arrows painted on the pavement were being laid out incorrectly and I had a serious concern that as a result there could be an accident caused because of it. It was at a major intersection nearby that I pass through frequently. I knew I knew my stuff on this because I have been trying to get the situation corrected for about three years, since the time when the road was first mis-marked. I had even gotten the county roads department out there then, and the state highway people too, and they all agreed it wasn't right, but for two or three years they'd passed the buck back and forth and never did anything to fix it. Now, here I am just back from summer travels and I see they are working on the intersection again, and at first I think, "Great, they will get it fixed finally!" But you know what, I then discovered they'd spray-can marked the road to be painted exactly wrong AGAIN! When I discovered this it was after 5 pm on Friday night, and so all the relevant offices were closed, but I knew I had to try an intervene somehow, because I suspected the painting would happen in the morning. I'll spare you all the details, but after a bunch of phone calls that produced nothing I ended up out on the roadside with 3 county deputy sheriffs trying to explain the situation to them, hoping they would be able to do something to get it done right. Luckily I had parked my car a block away, and luckily I was not carrying any ID. I say that because, sure enough, all of a sudden the cops were much more interested in me than what I was trying to explain to them. The conversation turned into them demanding to know who I was, did I live here, and, most significantly, "Do you have any ID on you?" It was an interesting dance for a few moments, as I quickly created satisfactory answers for them, including, "No, I am not carrying any ID." They were not happy about it but luckily it is not illegal to not have ID on you. They had to accept it, and we soon parted ways, me waiting until they were gone before walking to my car. I was real grateful for the grace of the moment, and for my freedom, and the realization of my true situation.
I went home and started intensely studying law, mostly online.
To go further, you need to know that a warrant is issued for 'nonappearance'. Meaning, it's a claim that I agreed, in order to not be arrested at the time of the speeding citation, to 'appear' in court etc. It's based upon that I allegedly signed the citation, and that it is therefore a contract. (I say allegedly because I eviscerated that presumption of contract by signing it "U.T.D.C./A.R.R/non-assumptsit". That all means "under threat, duress, and coercion/All Rights Reserved--and non-assumpsit is another claim that I am not a party to a valid contract.) However, in my case though, I absolutely did appear (immediately, on the Monday morning following the Saturday ticketing, at the court, where I contested the ticket, demanded to see the judge but was denied that, and did not pay the ticket and left, after taking iPhone pictures that would prove I was there… and that I had 'appeared'), but they are claiming that that was not a valid 'appearance'. I am claiming it was valid because I demanded to see the judge and they refused me, and that is a due process of law violation, and that therefore they should never have issued the warrant. Anyway, the reason I am doing legal research is to find the law that supports my position clearly enough that the court will have to drop all it's claims against me, including the warrant. Again, as I have said at other times, it is a learning situation, and I may not win my argument, but I will have gained the experience of trying too.
This week I wrote the court twice, presenting challenges and telling it why it should, basically, let me go. But so far, the warrant is still listed on the Utah state website. Next week, I will write more… because as I learn more, I have more to say. But the most interesting thing about all this has been, to recognize in a moment of epiphany, that there is some real deep healing of the past going on through all this process. What I mean is, as a youth, I experienced being bullied a lot, and to survive, I hid my anger behind pretenses. Now I am seeing and discovering what standing up for myself is all about. I am becoming able to be the man that as I child being bullied I was not able to be. That is immensely healing.
And, I know I know what is just and what is unjust. Even though we as a culture have been conditioned to not fight speeding citations etc, there is another higher truth. That is that in almost all cases there is no injured party. And the true ancient law (that has been corrupted) always upheld that if there is no injury, there is no case. I've done a lot of thinking about this, and I've come to the opinion that the true 'speed limit' is found in the 'flow of the traffic's speed'. In other words, maybe the sign says 45, but everyone is traveling at 50 (as was the case that day). Why? Because everyone knows that that is a safe speed. And they are voting by their traveling at 50 that that is so. So really, nobody that is going 50 is actually speeding, even though the posted signs say 45. Who then IS speeding? The guy that is recklessly going 65 or 70 when everyone else is flowing safely at 50. Why? Because he is endangering the public. People traveling in the flow are not endangering the public, they are traveling safely. In the world I envision, this would be understood, and no one safely traveling in the flow would be targeted for speeding… the target would rightly be those recklessly endangering the flow.
There are many other aspects of this contest also, not the least of which is that issuing speeding citations and receiving unprotesting payments thereof has become a highly addictive source of revenue for cities. It is a legalized racket, to set the legal speed slower than the clearly safe flow, knowing that now you just have to sit there and choose your target, knowing that most people will slow down for a few seconds when they see you pulling someone over, say to themselves, "Thanks God, that it wasn't me", and then go right back to their previous traveling speed. So the whole thing is a lie, benefiting the City treasury while picking the pockets of the public who have never been educated to recognize the scam, or learned how to contest it. I deeply believe that this is corruption. And I deeply believe such corruption needs to be challenged until it is exposed, and until it self-corrects. I hope it is not my mission 'forever', but obviously today, it is my assignment. I appreciate your encouragement and prayers.
May this recounting of these little adventures of mine offer you some worthy 'grist for the mill', and be useful in your life. Much love to each and every one of you, I so appreciate your loyal readership.
Namaste & Sat Nam,
David
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Rev. David Seacord
Fine Art Painter / Sufi Cherag
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