Little Boy

I had just recently watched a movie, that I had recommended to my sisters and mom, called “little boy” and when my sister was telling me about why she loved it, one reason was because the dad, in that movie, did not let his son’s physical size, cause the little boy to FEEL small. Because of the dad, the boy felt like he was BIG, TALL, STRONG, and COMPETENT.

The movie was a testimony to what “little boy’s”, who are the innocent, the seemingly weak, and even the small, or seemingly insignificant, are capable of, when they believe what “their father” tells them about themselves, is true.

I was thinking about this when I was walking and I got to the part of my walk, where there used to be a crosswalk, and the city recently ground off the white lines, because they had installed a street light, one block away, with a protected crosswalk, that has a button pedestrians can push, when they need to cross. The light will stop, and the pedestrians are allowed to go, which to me, feels powerful and strong…one person, when necessary, able to maneuver and even take priority, over busy traffic.

I thought about how this “law of traffic right of way”, expressed at this crosswalk, empowers and allows even a child to cross safely, and there is no requirement of a person to be a certain size and there also does not have to be any certain number of people present, for the crossing light to work properly. Waiting for the light, may require patience, but understanding and recognizing the good, behind the law, empowers us, just like recognizing the good in ourselves, as taught to us by our parents, (as demonstrated in that movie “little boy”), empowers us.

It is important, that when I need to cross the street, even though I am just one person, that there is a legal opportunity for me to do so. Provisions have been made to ensure that I have that chance, even though the majority of the time, the cars dominate. I do not need to have the same provisions that work for cars, because I understand and agree with the law and it’s operation of good.

The people in the cars in that area COULD desire to always be given priority considerations, and yet that would not be fair if it was never legal for someone walking, to cross. Being stopped for just one person, on foot, might seem aggravating, and yet, the law protects each individual pedestrian and their right to cross the street, as much as it protects the car; and each has their proper place.

All people have the right to navigate however they wish, on foot, on bicycles or in cars, or even in boats or planes, and the light ensures that all on the road, have opportunity, and that all do not accidentally ignore each other.

The laws of traffic would not be much good if not enforced…if people, ignored the light, crossed without right of way, and ran others off the road or even hit them, and were not then given consequences. If strangers or other people arriving at that intersection, for the first time, could not trust that the others in that arena wished to obey those laws of traffic…the flow of traffic would not be efficient and disorder and traffic congestion would follow.

The assumption of all law, is that mankind is good and does not wish to take advantage of, or manipulate others to their own advantage. (Including not wanting to find ways around the law, where those with the most money could pay for traffic lights to always work, for their benefit alone.)

I was raised to believe the truth, that man was created good…that God is good, and that mankind was created in the image and likeness of God. To me that means that our nature is good, and that our “life” is spiritual, and is demonstrated naturally through our behaviors, that align with doing good, including obeying laws, like the ten commandments. I read somewhere that the only real power that anyone ever actually has, is the power to do good.

Unfortunately, it seems like there are some who expect bad, not good, from mankind, and I believe that is a mistake. It would be a mistake to assume that people will not stop for a pedestrian…. just like it is a mistake to assume that some other person, because of race or gender, is against us. That mistaken view only stops us, and does not stop the other person, does it?

We can be cautious, and watchful, but we can recognize that mankind wants to care about others, and that caring is demonstrated in obedience to laws, as well as the ability to grant flexibility in extenuating circumstances.

An extenuating circumstance, might be the less obvious “crosswalk” I used to take. Before the street lines were ground off on the secondary street, I would take that route to cross, yet it was dangerous and I was always frustrated that when I stepped out in those protected white lines, as the cars would still zoom on by, without stopping. I WANTED to trust that they would obey the law and respect the crosswalk but I also did not want to get run over. I always had to stop, to find a better way to cross.

I could have believed that the law was useless in that case, because no one on that street ever stopped. But when I understood THAT crosswalk was an “extenuating circumstance”, my compassionate towards others, allowed me to understand that people are in a hurry, and tend to speed down that road, and yet they still do not want to hit me or be inconsiderate. In spite of appearances, like me, they DO want to follow the law and they will, when they are aware of it and when it is enforced.

Once the light that was installed, with the obvious prioritized crosswalk, it has helped fast driving cars slow down and be aware of the the little people, who are not less, or more important, than others on that road. We all get to travel that road when we obey the rules of traffic.

If I wanted that protected crossing, I would obey the law and I would choose that route as the proper way to cross. There are rewards in choosing good and choosing to look favorably on our fellow man instead of assuming that others are out to get us. One could certainly stand in the middle of the crosswalk and refuse to step aside and then claim injury and yet that is actually a distortion or perversion of the understanding of the law and the truth. It is not representative of most people, or the truth.

Just like “little boy” in the movie was empowered to do good by his father, we are empowered by God to also do good, with a clear path regarding how to do so. It is more satisfying, to follow this path, and the rewards are more enduring than those achieved by financial success or by going rogue. That empowerment from our father, not only gives us the right of way, it IS the right way.