"The Encouragement It Provides"

On a recent evening I zipped into a sandwich shop to pick up a sub platter former wife had ordered and was my responsibility to retrieve for our beautiful, smart and athletic daughter’s school event. I’m blessed we get along. Anyway, as I hurried to the counter, an enthusiastic employee smiles broadly and states: “Hey Mark, how are you. You spoke at the Larimer County Jail when I was there. Thanks.”

Okay, I might be a simple dude from Missouri, but that was a different introduction to somebody, right? The store wasn’t real busy so we had a chance to chat. It was inspiring. This handsome young man mentioned he was a shift manager, happy and working hard to learn from his mistakes. You go boy. I love speaking in correctional facilities. There are so many talented, smart and creative people incarcerated. It comes down to making healthy choices, right?

Now, let’s be clear, there are many bad people who need to be removed from society but there are many who are pretty good folks making, for whatever reason, bad choices earning time in the gray-bar motel. I’ve been there a few times myself for silly mistakes.

A young man with a bright smile and, at least at this time, even brighter future and I quickly ran through the four strategies discussed in the Pep Talk presentation he and other - male and female - inmates heard that day: be a student, not victim of life’s experiences; understand we’re not along and it’s important to connect with others of like mind; encourage one another to put fear aside and allow wonderment to win in creating productive choices to the challenges present in ways honoring, nurturing and adding value to the communities we serve.

A few days after this chance encounter, I was reading a hot August day’s edition of the Denver Post when a story about a state Department of Corrections’ program catches me eye: It has inmates learning career skills in the growing renewable energy industry. Somebody’s thinking, thank you! Anyway, one of the inmates is quoted as saying, “Everything is turning green; why not get educated? It’s my chance to become a productive member of society.”

Amen brother. Can you imagine what our world would look like if EVERYONE was focused on becoming a productive member of society? Wow, can I have another, please? The society might be your home, work, neighborhood or community. It really doesn’t matter because, while the venues change, the strategies are the same.

You get kicked around for a variety of reasons including poor choices. We then have another very important choice to make: student or victim? Choose wisely, K? The road will not be easy. But, a sincere effort to become superior to our former selves is worth the effort. If for no other reason, the encouragement it provides others incarcerated by society or self.