Imagine being locked away from society because you needed to be rehabilitated?
That’s what each prisoner is doing while in jail, or at least that’s the idea. The time spent in prison will help them make better choices when they finally come out
We all know that hardly ever works, at least not for the majority of prisoners. Instead, once released, the inmate will most likely find a way to end up right back where they now feel they belong
Why?
They’ve been conditioned to believe that they are worth nothing more than a 6 by 9 cell. Their minds have been institutionalised
I was reading a book which referred to doing time as ‘dead time’ – the concept being that while you’re away it’s like you’re dead to the world, dead to life. Away from all the rights we all can enjoy as functioning members of society, you are buried by the system and given very little rights
Most use this ‘dead time’ to make more connections with the criminal world that landed them there in the first place
But a small fraction of them do something we should all make note of. A small percentage turn dead time into alive time but reworking their minds
There’s nothing to do in prison but work the body and the mind. So these men and women begin to retrain their minds, reading, studying, many even gain qualifications while being locked up
Why?
Because, for most, they know they won’t be locked up forever. The time will come when their sentence will be served and they can go home to be reunited with loved ones and hopefully once more become productive members of society
Those that put in that prep work often find that some way somehow life gives them that second chance that they have been preparing for
Happy ending? Of course not, after all this is life, anything can happen to anyone of us
But as close to a happy ending as life will allow? You better believe it
How does this relate or apply to you?
well I know for me it made me thing about all the periods and seasons in my life that can often feel ‘dead’ – you the moments I’m talking about.
You hate your job, you have nobody to love you or for you to love back, you’re not progressing as speedily as you’d like and things just don’t seem to be in a hurry to change
Dead time is more often know as the rut.
What if, like those insightful prisoners (doesn’t life’s ruts feel like being stuck in a prison anyway?) we could use our dead time to our advantage
There’s only two things we can make the most of during this period, our minds and our body’s
Why not grow them both while we wait for things to change, while we wait for the prison door to open and for the season to bring in something new
If we do, I am convinced with all certainty that our second chance will bring so much more than we can begin to imagine
So, whatever season you are in right now, make sure you are constantly making the most of your two most valuable assets, your mind and body
Be well
SRZ
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