Rehabilitation

How come some prisoners serve their sentence and come out rehabilitated, while others just become hardened criminals? I read some accounts written by ex-convicts who came out of their periods of incarceration as better individuals. Most of them cited education and supportive relationships as integral to rehabilitation. 

Nelson Mandela, who was a political prisoner for more than 27 years, shared the following lessons from prison life: Look brave even when you don’t feel brave. Create little pockets of peace.

Viktor Frankl, who was imprisoned in a German concentration camp, said the following: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” 

If we are going through a prison-like experience, is there a way to use this time to reform ourselves?

When our independence is taken away from us for a period of time, we learn to appreciate many little things we used to take for granted and still do. We learn empathy for those in similar circumstances. We also learn about our own strengths and flaws and our subconscious beliefs. This is our education. 

Some of us are blessed with supportive relationships—people who can be relied on even in the worst of circumstances. It is invaluable to have at least one person in your life who is consistently available, encouraging, and empowering. 

Prison takes away our freedom to make many choices, but it also clarifies the choices that we have left. We can choose our attitude. We can choose to be brave even when we are frightened. We can create little pockets of peace—appreciating every minute of privacy, enjoying a bit of fresh air, sharing laughter with a friend, focusing on something beautiful for a little while, showing kindness to a fellow prisoner, savoring every pleasant second, and reminiscing about sweet memories.