Inspiration:
“Be like the bird who, halting in his flight on a limb too slight, feels it give way beneath him, yet sings, knowing he has wings.” – Victor Hugo
Hope: The Theology of Despair
The one trait that most criminals share is hopelessness. Hopelessness is the root of all deviant behavior. Hopelessness tells us that the future is bleak, that all we have is the present moment. If our personality can be viewed as a chain of memories, hopelessness is the broken link that keeps us from even considering that we are larger than this moment, larger than these bodies, larger than our cultural and national identities. It cuts us off from the recognition that humanity, with all of its accomplishments and failures, is embodied in each person.
My hope was restored by degrees, and I did not do it alone. It has been a group effort. Even during months and years when I had no outside contact I have always felt a part of the “inter-dependent web of existence of which we are a part.” Knowing the truth about why I am in prison, it would be easy to give up hope, embrace bitterness and become what I was portrayed to be. But studying us—humanity—I know and am convinced that the only thing that separates angels from demons is that the latter gave up hope and in doing so came to personify hopelessness and all of its fruit.
There can be no rehabilitation, no reform without hope. Learning from my peers, from the greatest minds, like Emerson and Dr. King, gives me hope. Challenging those who work to keep me in prison, without resorting to lies, and while maintaining my compassion, gives me hope. People like Chaplain Pat—who puts extra care into making sure that UUs in prison stay connected to all of you in the “free world”—give me hope and inspiration. The fact that you donate time and money to spreading and promoting our values and principles gives me hope.
Most of all, my mother’s support and friendship, her strength and resilience, gives me hope that I can live as courageously as she has in a life of brutal adversity and struggle.
Hope, to me, is the mental, emotional and spiritual equivalent of that ineffable force that holds the universe together, and which has given the universe the ability to look upon itself through our eyes, and marvel at the breadth of its diverse and infinite beauty. Hope is not merely an attitude. It is our birthright.
BY DANIEL A. GREEN, CLF MEMBER, NORTH CAROLINA TO READ MORE
Join us at 1:30 pm ET tonight for our service of Reflection & Connection: http://www.livestream.com/questformeaning
Wow. What a heartening thing to read these words from someone in prison, and what a testament to the value of our prison ministry.
I love the quote at the top. We all, in a sense, have wings. I have spent the last couple of years residing on a small island on the other side of the world from my family. It is phone calls with my mother that get me through the hardest days. I actually collapsed in the kitchen yesterday and wept, considering what life would (and will eventually) be like when she is no longer on the other end of the phone. Thank you for this lovely contribution.