Is Joyriding a Crime?

 

Joyriding is a crime, sort of.

You woke up one day, stole something, went for a ride in it simply for the joy of it, then abandoned the ride - you're a criminal if you got caught and an asshole if you didn't.  

Being a joy rider is not a crime though. 

First, the crime:

Guess what gets stolen the most? In the United States in 2019, the two most stolen vehicles were both Dodges; an irony we gotta flag as the criminals clearly dodged the law while slipping away in two of the loudest, and most culpable causes for neck cranks known to the nation: the Dodge HEMI Charger and Dodge Hellcat take first and second place, respectively, as most stolen.

Both rattle windows and nerves with an engine rev roar familiar to virtually every American, so how these thieves manage to drive off in a car with a transmission that sounds like a tantrum-ing teenager is itself, regrettably, impressive.

Here are the grandfathers of these coveted Dodges, a 1969 and 1970 Dodge Charger, unsure what to make of the high demand for the plastic dash of their offspring...

Anyway, back to the crime.

Nowadays, unsure how much joy one can extract from a stolen vehicle that's:

1. Tracked with built in GPS
2. Equipped with anti-theft devices that make hot wiring a skill as useful as VHS repair
3. Likely to drive you through an intersection where government installed face recognition surveillance cameras scan your face
4. Gonna force you to listen to a sound system relegated to terrible radio as hopefully no criminal is dumb enough to connect the stolen vehicle's bluetooth to their cell phone's music library

Which is why joyriding the crime has decreased significantly over the years while being a joy rider, has increased exponentially. 

Being a joy rider means doing whatever brings you joy and doing it as much as possible with consistent optimism as long as it's not destructive. Simple. Ride your joy. Do it every day. 

The bliss-seeking-take-no-BS-do-you-daily-adventuring is what being a joy rider is all about. 

Those who wake up, craft their own bliss, and ride that joy all day on their path to authentic happiness are the joy riders who have it all figured out. Nurturing and protecting your authenticity is being a joy rider. 

You define joy and its accompanying ride, and Rogue Coast CA let's you flex it.  Being a joy rider is all about staying in your own lane of good vibes and bliss, and coasting it daily as long as it's not cruel or corrosive.

Is your joy playing chess? You're a joy rider. Is your joy surfing? You're also a joy rider. Cooking is your joy? Joy rider.  Making muscles? Joy rider. Fishing? Joy rider. Raising kids? Joy rider. And on and on it goes. Riding your own daily joy is the ultimate way to nurture your you-ness and maintain your authenticity. 

The more you invest in whatever sparks your own, personal joy, and ride that out daily, the better life gets. The better you feel. The better you behave. Being a joy rider is all about committing to whatever makes you the best version of yourself and taking no prisoners on making it happen as much as possible as long as you don't turn in to a selfish prick. 

So get after it, be a joy rider, and watch life level up.