The Buddha says to meet suffering without resistance, so that is what I endeavor to do, because I really do believe that we can embrace adversity with a sincere — and even hearty — “Namaste!” even if we still grumble “mthrfckr…” under our breaths.

This week, I got seated on a jury, and am now making $15/day, instead of being able to go to my much-needed part-time day job, which pays for the minimum (and by no means all) of my expenses. So I might make some gas money, for when I get to go back to work.

Yet, I found myself in the county courthouse with a surprising sense of calm, and/in the deep knowledge that I would become a juror this time.

I’ve been summoned countless times, including summoned to serve in San Francisco as soon as I moved to New York City, and vica versa, as soon as I moved back. Since then, approximately every year or two, I’ve called the automated attended the night before the summons date, each time, and instructed to call back in the morning, and sometimes then instructed to call back at noon for a potential arrival time of 1pm. Always, I was dismissed and told I’d fulfilled my jury service simply by calling a disembodied, recorded voice. Always, I wondered what kind of civic duty that was, exactly.

This time, somehow, I knew it was my turn. Maybe it was Murphy’s law, because before, I’d been summoned when I had a day job, the kind that stresses you out just to think about it, the kind about which I’d enacted the rule which states: I Don’t Talk About My Job When I’m Not There. Now THAT was a time I’d've liked to take a federally-mandated jury duty holiday from the job. Or last year, after I’d quit that job and became my own boss. I was pretty flexible with my schedule, and an extra $15 a day would certainly have been a boon. But no. THOSE times, I just called the number, got excused, and resumed my business.

THIS time, sure, I need the cash, but not more than the rate at which I can earn it if I’m NOT listening to the facts of a case I’m not legally allowed to talk about right now and then deliberating on those facts with eleven other jurors (and two alternates) whom it just took two complete days to select.

The Universe has a sick sense of humor, indeed, and I enjoy a good joke.* So. Something in me said to just embrace it, roll with it, let it flow, and the answers to my personal financial dilemma will become clear.

Because what are the options? Bitch and moan like the other folks summoned for jury duty? That won’t fix it or change it or make it go faster. Resistance makes it harder on the resistor, and, I hear, is futile.

So best to welcome the frustration and suffer less. This is my new tack. Wish me luck.

*In all honesty (not that I wasn’t being honest this whole time, I mean shit, I raised my right hand and swore my honesty twice over the last two days), though, jury duty is our civic duty, it is our right and privilege as citizens. Sure, we organize and we protest and we vote, but if we’re not in the majority then, in the end, our voice doesn’t count. On a jury, our voice is one-twelfth of the deciding whole, and that is just statistically much more direct and immediate and, I hope, satisfying. And how often do you get satisfaction with the government? (Y’know, besides voting in somebody supergreat this time around?!) So when YOU get YOUR jury summons, go out there and rock it!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 10:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.