I see community in the faces of the correctional officers, counselors, nurses, doctors, and free-staff and my heart and hands are equally open to them as to those who are stigmatized in blue.
Some perceive my giving spirit as an indication of feebleness and low self-esteem. However, being attuned to my heart-center, I know that giving is an empowering expression of love, and love is what truly nurtures a community.
Every day my heart and hands are wide open to give to the community around me without expectations or attachment to receiving anything back. Life is what you make of it.
Prison doesn’t have to be a set pattern of violence romanticized by the media, ignorantly perpetuated by those too timid to be vulnerable or to question the script.
I don’t take pride in the selfless acts that flow through me, but I do notice the subtle shifts of others, whether it’s in a smile, their awareness, or just their general feeling towards life. Love does matter.
I don’t just see community in my fellow incarcerated human beings, I see community in the faces of the correctional officers, counselors, nurses, doctors, and free-staff and my heart and hands are equally open to them as to those who are stigmatized in blue.
Any bias is a missed opportunity to connect, heal, and shift the negative narrative that has been told about us. They say it takes a village, but if a village is wounded, what will become of that child?
We are the children of this community and if cleaning a prison shitter is your way to give, then you are nurturing the community.
