“Even for the most
hardened and cynical, hope gives us the right attitude to be able to believe
again.”
Hill Harper
Best Selling
Author/Actor
Hotep,
Dirty trays. Cold
eggs. Or, someone sneezing without
covering their mouths. These are the
elements that can easily set the tone for a day in prison. Breakfast is the most difficult meal to
endure, in the state’s chow hall. In
most cases, a soymilk and half cup of orange juice is the safest measure of
nourishment. The most important meal of
the day can be the most dangerous. And,
I’m not just talking about food consumption.
It’s during this time; I realize how easy it would be to
give up on life. How easy it would be to
allow myself to become full with cynicism.
My existence could easily be fed by the corrosion of hate, and my
mindset could rot away with disdain.
This psychological combat zone endorses a human being’s caged
animal-like responses, to these chow hall fire-fights, as being normal. To dwell on the morbidity of this circumstance
would be the waving of a white flag in the face of my captors.
Then there is hope; a hope that makes me uniquely
human. A hope that has been present
since my conception. A gift passed
through the umbilical connection between mother and son. We never know how many heartbeats we have
left, so I wanna take this expression on a 180 degree turn, to face the source
of my hope.
You see, my Moms has been an encouraging force whether it be
through her vanquishing the heartaches of rearing children, or her distinctive
will to see the face of God through the turmoil of family crisis. There’s much to learn from a woman whose
smile and genuine happiness, possess energy capable of redirecting oncoming
pessimism, while generating positivity in its wake. Feel me?
Her connection to the divinity of our Creator regularly
reveals her excitement about the unknown experiences life continues to offer. Even I have been guilty of asking
Moms why she’s so happy. I guess this is
what Hill Harper meant when he said, “They accomplished such stunning life
changes and subsequent victories because they never gave up on the idea that
they had a right to be unreasonably happy.
They knew and believed that they had that right and ability to create
their own lives.” In regards to that quote, my Moms is unreasonably happy. Ya heard?
In the book, “Letter to an Incarcerated Brother,” (http://www.incarceratedbrother.com ) Hill Harper speaks to a brother doing time without the outside support of his mother. The responses from this particular brother exude a disturbingly negative outlook on a life that should be filled with limitless opportunities. The lack of a mother’s happiness and encouraging presence can be damaging to the potential growth of a man behind the wall.
In the book, “Letter to an Incarcerated Brother,” (http://www.incarceratedbrother.com ) Hill Harper speaks to a brother doing time without the outside support of his mother. The responses from this particular brother exude a disturbingly negative outlook on a life that should be filled with limitless opportunities. The lack of a mother’s happiness and encouraging presence can be damaging to the potential growth of a man behind the wall.
I thank God for you, Moms. Through you, I’ve learned the power of being unreasonably happy. It’s only unreasonable to the people unfamiliar with true happiness. I’m unreasonably happy about the relationship we share. Your gift of hope has given me the right attitude to believe in myself when the odds are stacked against me. I assure you; there are no white flags in my character.
Happy Mother’s Day, Beautiful Lady!!
Your Son,
Leroy
Copyright © 2014 by Leroy Elwood Mann
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