My Journey to Busking, Part 2 - Cracks in the Footpath..

Looking into the tree, I could see the brilliant sparkle of the glowing sun flickering on and off. The cool breeze sent the leaves of the tree on a dance that blocked and then unblocked the path of light that had travelled a vast stretch of space and time to reach me. The magnificent tree glowed as the sunlight passed through the leaves, transforming it into a luminous green delight. 

I placed my guitar case on the ground, put the guitar strap over my shoulder. “This is a perfect place to busk”, I whispered to myself. And as my guitar filled the air with music, I wondered if the people who passed by ever stopped to consider the beauty of the dappled light that reflected off their skin.

As a new busker, I love it when I find a good place to play. I have discovered that one of the most difficult things is actually finding a suitable place. There are many things to consider if you want to busk lawfully in Adelaide. There are rules, and if you break them you will be fined. 

Some of the rules are... You cannot “adversely affect or disturb the peace, comfort or convenience of users of a public place”. You must not “undertake an activity for more than 30 minutes in one location, use the same location more than once a day, obstruct or impede the flow of pedestrians or vehicular traffic”. You are not allowed to busk in front of landmark buildings, or businesses. etc. etc. All good rules for a decent city, however it does make finding suitable good places to busk difficult. It’s a bit like finding cracks in the footpath.

Have you ever noticed how even the strongest cement slabs and carefully placed pavers cannot stop the peep of tender leaves growing in and around them? There’s nothing you can do to stop life oozing out of this good earth. Eventually, no matter how toxic the environment, life will burst through. Sometimes, when I see a tree clinging precariously on a rocky cliff or discover plants growing through a sidewalk I have to step back and marvel at how incredible it is. How can something grow in such harsh inhospitable conditions?. It fills me with wonder and amazement. Life is… and it is oozing out everywhere.

Busking, to me is like that sunlight shining through the trees, and life growing in the cracks of the footpath. It hints to deeper things, to life under the surface. The heart of humanity is revealed and expressed as it shines through in the raw poetic expression, humour and art of street performance. It is tender and fragile... but it is resolute, determined, unyielding, and a miracle. It gives of itself, where it finds a place to do so. The human heart and soul won’t be destroyed by a concrete monster, and the creative expression of our experience will never be silenced. After all, we are made in the image of God. We are born to be touched by sunlight, and we will grow through the cracks of the pavement to reach it. Life is. It is all around us. It's just that sometimes we are too busy, or lost in our own world of dead things to notice... and we walk by without even knowing that golden beams of sunlight adorned our faces with its beauty. 

Brian Maunder is the author-illustrator of the 

children's picture book Polly's Little Kite.

Website: brianmaunder.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PollysLittleKite

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/20862325-polly-s-little-kite

Review: www.goodbookreviews.org.uk