Monday nights see a group of Austin residents converge on a house in South Austin. Once the discussion group is convened, tea is shared, and individuals discuss their personal experiences about the topic of the week. The general theme of the group is spiritual development, and topics have included “Current Influences on Spiritual Path” and “Personal Experiences of god”.
There are many paths and belief systems in presence at the meetings. One path was about to be presented this evening by a Hyde Park resident, but he couldn’t attend. He had to go for a walk in the dark. This is his story:
“One morning, I woke up and something changed. It was one of those moments like when you’re bereaved and you suddenly look for god or God or something to make sense of it all. This particular morning I was receptive to divine inspiration. I was like a liquid in space – searching for some gravity and a container to give me shape and a form I could be happy with. It could have been anything that gave me a new road to walk on my journey through life. If the Mormons had knocked on my door, I probably wouldn’t be telling this story, I’d be busy beating my five wives. If I’d picked up a copy of The Dice Man, I’d probably be rolling dice right now to figure out whether to invade French Canadia or continue telling this story.”
“But it was none of these things that shaped my life. It was some yawping from my speakers that re-shaped my life – the revelation were carried by the voices of Jon Bon Jovi and Kenny Rogers. The lyrics gave me the values, ethics and very instructions on how to be a better person. I took them to heart – it’s all there in ‘The Coward of the County’, ‘Livin on a Prayer’, ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’, and ‘The Gambler’. There are plenty of other songs, but most of the other Kenny Rogers stuff I looked up was such dire drivel that I realised it could not be the true gospel.”
“The songs changed my life. The very next day I walked ‘these streets’ for about two hours. I did so without a loaded six-string on my back (my six string was in hock apparently). I got sunburn, and then I realised that I should have ‘the night on my side’, so I went for a walk at night too. ‘Sometimes I have to fight to be a man’ so I went to a boxing class, and punched the short-sighted, cross-eyed asian kid for a bit. He couldn’t see me coming. I didn’t play for keeps, mainly because I knew I’d be coming back. On Wednesday. I talked to Jonny, the pro-fighter at the gym who is normally a man of few words. He maybe saw the light in my eyes – the fervour of a proselyte on a Bon Jovi mission. He told me his story, of how he used to be a hood on the streets, how he messed people up, and how he’d been shot. That all changed when he found boxing – now he literally lives for the fight, because that’s all that he’s got. Wooah.”
“There are other things I have learned – not to give my favourite whisky to any dying poker players on trains to nowhere. I haven’t had cause to use that one yet, or to shake hands in the light of day with anyone, but these are sure to be useful tips from old Kenny.I haven’t grasped the full meaning of all of the commandments, but I’m halfway there.”