A Day in the Life...

I woke up at 6:30 AM and prepared to go to breakfast. The bathroom was a revolving door of sleepy-eyed men emptying their bladders, washing their faces, and, mercifully, some were even brushing their teeth before possibly sitting across from me at breakfast. Breakfast was oatmeal, whole wheat toast with butter and jelly, and a kid-sized, 4 oz's of orange juice. 

After breakfast I went back to my bunk to watch Charles Stanley from "In-Touch Ministries" in Atlanta Georgia. It's something I enjoy every Sunday from 7-8 AM.From 8-9:15 AM I was at the chapel service where a group of volunteers led worship and preached. What an uplifting service it was! While it's easy to get distracted by the obvious hypocrites who raise their hands in praise at service, but curse their neighbor, steal everything not bolted down, and have a boyfriend the rest of the week, I remember that I was a huge hypocrite myself once (in my own way), and still need work too.

After service, while in the dayroom I heard about the fight that happened at 2:30 AM in the bathroom. Both guys were taken to the hold, and I can't say I'm sorry to see one of them go. The guy telling the story of the fight was very animated and had people laughing. It's amazing to me to see the same people who kicked it with one of the guys yesterday talking bad about him today. So much for loyalty.

Sunday is "spring cleaning" day in our cube. We wash the walls, footlockers, shelves and floor with bleach and disinfectant. Prisoners who have been down a while tend to be fastidious about cleaning. I don't know if it's fear of MRSA or just getting sick. Lunch was scrambled eggs, toast, salad, sliced potatoes, and an orange.

After lunch, I played cribbage for an hour or so. I won some and lost some. While playing I noticed "Joe" hanging around looking forlorn, so I asked if he wanted to go for a walk. We went walking on big yard for over an hour where he shared that today was the anniversary of when his ex-wife killed their son. He said, "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I don't normally talk about it. I guess you're a good listener." Made me feel good. I told him I'd pray for him. He is holding onto an awful lot of hatred. I spent some afternoon time typing some letters and mailing them and then showered and shaved. 

Dinner was baked chicken leg with mashed potatoes and gravy, whole wheat bread and butter, and a chocolate chip cookie. 

Played cribbage after dinner for an hour or so, and found out one of my cribbage partners had his watch stolen off his tv shelf while he slept. He's a "crip" so that wasn't supposed to happen. It shows me that the structure of these organizations is seriously lacking. If he finds out who, it won't be pretty.

Kicked it with my cube-ies for a bit and had some laughs and then watched TV for a couple of hours. The Detroit Tigers got swept by San Fran. Now where's all that talk about "The D"?

Fell asleep much earlier than most of the guys in my unit.

Fueling Your Vision with Passion

When you think of passion it's easy to envision an expression of emotion. It could be anger, excitement, determination, or other emotional expressions. 

But passion is more than expression. Passion is the motivating drive that fuels greatness. Without passion there is no urgency in the fight for a cause, no enthusiasm pushing one through obstacles, no optimism for a positive outcome. 

Passion comes from the heart and manifests itself through emotional expression and unrelenting drive. 

Passion fueled vision doesn't accept a "no." It believes in a future outcome because it works to create it. It makes the person fueled with passion part of the solution rather than part of the problem. 

Passion keeps you going when everyone else would quit.  But can you create passion?

As author Stephen Covey put it, "The key to creating passion in your life is to find your unique talents and your special role and purpose in the world. It is essential to know yourself before you decide what work you want to do."

You have to discover what is knocking at the door of your heart. It's about discovering what is dreaming through you, and having the courage to act on those dreams. 

It might take some serious introspection and self-searching, some serious prayer and probably some trial and error, but discovering who you are and what you bring to the world is essential to creating passion in your life.

(Some content adapted from "The 8th Habit", by Stephen Covey)

Putting your Vision in Motion

I can't seem to shake the feeling of how important having a Vision is in one's life. Stephen Covey defined Vision like this: "Vision is seeing a future state with the mind's eye. Vision is applied imagination." (The 8th Habit, page 70)

Vision and hope go hand-in-hand because Vision represents desire, dreams, hopes, goals and plans. But not in a fantasy sort of way. They are reality not yet realized. 

I explained previously how Vision, Purpose, and Values fit together. Also essential to effectively using Vision in your life are discipline and passion. 

Discipline is essential because it is the execution, the making it happen. It's the sacrifice of doing whatever it takes to make your Vision a reality. People often hear the word "sacrifice" and immediately think of giving up something good. Sometimes it does mean giving up something good. But this personal sacrifice, the process of subordinating today's pleasure for a greater long-term good, is exactly what discipline is all about. 

You might equate discipline with an absence of freedom. In fact, the opposite is true. Only the disciplined are truly free. The undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites, and passions. Horace Mann once said, "In vain do they talk of happiness who never subdue an impulse in obedience to a principle. He who never sacrificed a present for future good, or a personal to a general one, can speak of happiness only as the blind speak of color."

Much of the time discipline is unpleasant. But people with vision subordinate their dislike of discipline to the strength of their purpose. While Vision is a roadmap, discipline is the vehicle. Next time we'll talk about passion, the fuel that feeds the vehicle. 
(Some content adapted from "The 8th Habit" by Stephen Covey)

Finding Your Voice

One of the most influential books I've ever read was Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People."

If you've never read it, I highly recommend you do so. But in the meantime, the 7 habits are:

1. Be Proactive

2. Begin With The End in Mind

3. Put First Things First

4. Think Win/Win

5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

6. Synergize

7. Sharpen the Saw

I recently discovered that Covey wrote a follow-up book titled "The 8th Habit." It's so incredible that I often find what I'm thinking about paralleled in a book I read later. I recently wrote about leaving a legacy, and about pursuing greatness (in the difference made in other's lives) and then I find this book which focuses on going from Effectiveness to Greatness, and finding your voice and inspiring others to find theirs. 

I hadn't really thought of it in this way, but I suppose one of the primary purposes of this blog is to inspire others to find their voice as I am finding mine. 

I hope that as I share what has inspired me, that you will be inspired and make positive changes in your own lives."

Consumerism

Before coming to prison I was part of the ever-changing cycle of consumerism. I'm not sure I was in as deep as some, but I certainly was in deep enough. You know the cycle: As income increases, so does consumption. Some people even increase their consumption based on anticipated income. Author Robert Kiosaki ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad") called it the "Rat Race."

In prison I constantly hear talk of "gettin' money." It's an unhealthy obsession with consumerism.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people that claim to have no desire for money just because I don't have any. I'd like to make good money, and maybe I will one day. But I'm realizing that one cannot be obsessed with consuming when there are so many more important things in life. 

When one values money more than freedom, it's easy to fall right back into patterns of behavior that landed them in prison in the first place. In fact, some even continue that same behavior in prison. Stealing from other inmates, dealing in drugs or contraband to make money, or even running scams.
Changing behavior starts with changing your way of thinking.

Until we change our obsession with consuming, many inmates will end up right back in prison, "free" people will continue to be enslaved by mountains of debt, or living paycheck-to-paycheck, and we'll continue to drain the earth of its natural resources. 

What are you consuming that you can let go? Don't be a part of the cycle of consumerism.

A Legacy of Redemption

Like most people, I used to have a desire to leave a lasting legacy. I wanted to make a difference with my life. I still have this desire; I guess you could call it a desire for greatness. But not greatness in a notorious way. Greatness in the magnitude of the difference I make in other's lives. I'm sure I'm not alone in this desire.
Since coming to prison though I've come to desire something even more than a legacy of greatness.

I want to hug my kids again.
I want the comfort of a loving wife again.
I want forgiveness.
I want to redeem myself to my family and friends.

I do still want to leave a legacy of making a difference in people's lives, but above all, I want to leave a legacy of a redemption story.

What sort of legacy are you writing with your life?

Blessings

I'm grateful for the blessings I experience every day. With all the negativity around me, it's important to name my blessings and to focus on them. 

Since transferring to a lower security level here are some of the many blessings I've experienced:

1. A peaceful cubicle. All the guys in my cube get along well. I hear arguing, and fighting, hear about stealing and selfishness in other cubes, but the cube I'm in is peaceful and we all watch out for each other.

2. Single-man showers. Does this really need an explanation?

3. Beautiful grounds. Garden plots with fresh vegetables and aromatic and beautiful flower gardens everywhere. Lots of freedom of movement and grass in the yard areas.

4. An encouraging christian church service. After the negative atmosphere at the last facility's services I stopped attending. It's refreshing to get back to corporate worship.

5. A bunk by the window. Out of eight bunks in my cube, four are by the hallway and four are by the windows. I got one by the window. That means I can look outside at anytime onto the green grass and trees, and it means I can enjoy the fresh air when it's warm enough to open the window.

6. Better conditions for my allergies. Less dust, and more air movement mean my allergies are much better. That means better sleep.

There are more than these blessings, but this is a sample of how God is blessing me today. What're your blessings?