Don't I Know You?

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the indoor weight pit, which I hadn't been in for a while, and as I worked out by myself the guy at the station next to me asked, "Hey man! What's your name?" Well, when a stranger in prison asks for your name, immediately your guard goes up. Either the guy might mistake you for someone else who he knew at another prison (and may have a beef with), or the guy may have some ulterior motives--"Don't I know you?" is a common approach for manipulation tactics. 

Putting aside my caution, I told him my name, "Bryan." He replied, "Hope on the Inside Bryan?" 

Imagine my shock to hear a complete stranger in prison recognize me because of my blog! I was so taken aback, and I asked him, "How do you know about my blog." Come to find out, he recently arrived in prison, and as he was preparing to come to prison he stumbled across my blog. He said that he read every post and that it was very helpful for him as he prepared for coming to prison--a new experience for him. He happened to end up in the same prison as me, and he remembered what I looked like from my blog picture!

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to know my blog helped a fellow prisoner. Most of the time, I am writing for loved ones of prisoners, but I realize that people headed to prison, prison reform advocates, and others also read my blog. My hope is that what I write can reach the greatest number of people and shed light on prison issues, but I especially want my writing to provide hope and healing. Prison is not the end of the line for most people, but even for those who find themselves in prison for life, life need not cease to have meaning. Being in prison sucks, but as I have written, it can be a monastery rather than a cemetery, if one makes it so. My hope is that by shedding light on the darkness of prison and sharing a prisoner's perspective, people outside the razor wire fences will fear us less, will love us more, and will allow us the opportunity to redeem ourselves for the wrongs we have done. 

My blog reader-turned-prisoner is now becoming a friend of mine. He says he is committed to using this time to reform himself, and if my blog had even a little influence in his decision to make something positive of this time in prison, I have accomplished at least part of my objective of being a means for healing rather than a force of destruction. You never know how much of an impact something simple can have on the life of another.