To survive in most areas of prison you must first understand that everyone lies, everyone cheats, and no one is your friend. The paradox is that not everyone lies, not everyone cheats, and some people can be friends. The problem lies in the fact that one smiling face and hand shake looks much like another, and when your surrounded by consummate liars, how do you tell the truth from the lie, friend from enemy? You can't. You can treat everyone professionally, pleasantly, smile, and be friendly. Beware those who speak negatively of kindness and self-discipline. Be wise in choosing your friends. Above all, be true to yourself. Most people can not grasp this concept.
There are two kinds of people in prison. Those who live in the past and those who look to the future. The past can teach us, from experience, how to accomplish things, and comfort us with cherished memories. But, to live in the past is to embrace what is dead, it has already happened. The future is a mystery. We can not prepare for all possibilities, that isn't possible. All things reveal themselves in time. I believe - now - that all our actions, everything we think, take place only in this moment. So it is with each of us. All our will and ability to change rests in this moment. Right now. We can change our future and repair our past if we will only decide to change our behaviour right now.
Change - True Change - comes from within. It is motivated, inspired, or invoked in others but never enforced. Each of us has a responsibility to change. If you do not strive to be better than what you are, you live without a purpose. What is the point of if not to improve it for yourself and others? My change transformed a shallow life of fear, greed, hedonism, and materialism to a meaningful life of love and caring, gratitude and generosity, fairness and equity, joy and hope, and a profound respect for others. I've taken my responsibility to change seriously.
The transformation has been wonderful.
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