"...aaj toh gaya..."

"...aaj toh gaya..."

...was my first thought. ["I am in for some trouble today"].

It was a Saturday morning and, as is the case on most Saturdays, I was on my way to the local market to run some errands. I was in the middle of a crowded lane when I saw something that froze my mind! It was a traffic cop, standing just a few feet away. Now the market is just a few hundred meters away from my home. It is usually just a 60 second bike ride. So there have been times when I skipped wearing the helmet (when I was in a rush). That particular day, I wasn't wearing my helmet either. 

My mind quickly calculated the probability of getting fined by the cop and it was pretty high. "Sir, I stay close by and was in a rush, so I am not wearing my helmet today" I rehearsed, in my mind. But I knew no justification was valid and there was no escape. So, to save myself from the fine and agony, I quickly turned around and started moving in the other direction, glad that I had averted a tragedy by spotting the cop just in time! However, about four steps... yes, "steps" later, it dawned on me that I wasn't on my bike that day! The bike was given to the mechanic the prior evening for some repair work. I had walked down to the market area that day, and obviously, wasn't wearing a helmet. I turned back again, laughing at myself for what I had just put myself through. I passed the cop, confidently looking into his eyes and smiling as I passed by him. 

Once we do something non-compliant/wrong, it creates a fear in a corner of the mind. In the future then, even if we are compliant/right, the mention/sight of a policing/governing authority triggers the fear of getting caught, sending us into disarray, looking for proof of compliance (helmet) - which wasn't probably required in the first place to begin with.

Be compliant. Save your head. Save your mind from your own mind.