I have many reasons for waking early each day to write about prison adjustments. One reason includes my hope that I can help other prisoners understand their own power to make decisions that will prepare them to lead fulfilling lives. I speak with many men who struggle with their confinement. Through classes I teach, my writings, and the examples I set, I hope to show them that a goal-centered adjustment makes it possible to advance through sentences with feelings of personal growth toward becoming stronger, more balanced individuals.
The key to this growth, I think, is to accept responsibility. We as prisoners cannot wait for outside forces to improve our lives. Instead, we must understand our environment, then take action to ensure that we achieve the most with what is available to us. As a consequence of pursuing this strategy throughout my prison adjustment, I’ve always felt as if I could make contributions to the lives of others.
To thrive inside these boundaries, a prisoner needs to create an activity that connects him to society. The alternative mires a prisoner inside the prison culture, where pernicious influences perpetuate. That lack of focus on positive prison adjustments leads many people into prison gangs, or if they are in lower security prisons, into patterns of behavior that keep the men on cycles of failure.
As the title of this journal entry shows, I’ve lived separated from my family and community since 1987. That has been my entire adult life. Despite all of thsoe years, I live with a lot of energy and optimism. The underlying reason that supports my empowerment is the connections I make to society, and the commitments I make toward redemption.
I am not certain how much more time I must serve. Mywife and I are prepared for whatever comes. During the time I have remaining to serve I will continue writing, investing many hours each day to contribute literature that will help others understand prisons, the people they hold, and strategies for growing through confinement.
The talented Web designers who work closely with Carole bring me lots of suggestions about how I can use internet technology more effectively to expand my network. I know that Congressional reports show that more than 13 million people process through the criminal justice system each year. I’d like to reach more of them and inspire those who must struggle through prison into positive adjustments. My limitations, however, are that I don’t have more than a pen and paper; I burden others with the duty of converting my handwritten pages into digital files, inserting hyperlinks, using effective keywords, twittering, and making use of all social networking tools. I’m grateful for the help I receive, as connecting with others assuages the pains of confinement.
This morning I began my work early, before 2:00, as I had many blogs to write. I sent out eight articles before the day was over. My body is feeling a bit beaten from all the exercise, so I swallowed three ibuprofens before I went to run. I ran 10 miles slowly, then followed with 200 pushups. My tally is now 883 miles over the past 97 consecutive days.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
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