A Day In the Life…is a segment about my everyday personal experiences where I have learned something valuable. By sharing my story with you, my wish is that you too, will learn something meaningful.

Very recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the local corrections center, which is a low to medium security center.   Some of the low risk inmates or residents as they are usually called, shared a passion for learning about Buddhist meditation.  I am not Buddhist, but regularly attend a Buddhist meditation group.  So, myself and the group members who organized this project met with the residents. I must say having never been in a correctional setting before, I didn’t know what to expect and was a bit apprehensive.

Boy, was I blown away.  The building we were in was bright and cheery.  There were positive affirmations written everywhere.  The residents were friendly, helpful and constantly laughing and joking around.  I could feel the sense of comradery and brotherhood.  They welcomed me and I almost immediately felt comfortable.  We shared information with the men, received feedback about what they wanted, and practiced a sitting and walking meditation. By the end of the hour, I felt at home.  I thanked the residents for their hospitality, after all it was an honor to have the opportunity to visit what was in all essense, their home.

So what did I learn from this experience?  That with an open heart and mind, I was able to confront my own stereotypes and dispel some myths about inmates and corrections facilities.  These men were living proof that with the right support, people can change. 

Now, I don’t want to paint an overly simplified and rosy picture.  It is important to note that the particular building we were visiting was a therapeutic house for those with addictions issues. It is the first one of its kind in British Coulmbia.  Residents have to earn their way and work extremely hard to stay in this more progressive and normalized setting. They need to be clean for a certain length of time and remain that way in order to stay there.  Not everyone makes it.  Across the way, another building held the medium security residents.  We did not have access to them. This in no way takes away from the ’success stories’ though.  I am inspired by the men I met that day and the Canadian John Howard Society who had the vision of creating something beyond the norm.  I plan to continue volunteering there.  I believe there is a quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead.  I’m not exactly sure.  But, it goes something like this:

The true measure of a society is how it treats its most disenfranchised, the ones it labels ‘criminal’.

    The strength of the human spirit

Please share your thoughts about what this article has brought up for you or an experience you’ve had with the corrections system or the people in it.  After all, is it not the responsibility of each citizen to examine how their society treats all peoples?

With humility and gratitude for life’s profound lessons for us all,

Anita

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Life Coaching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.