We Become Ourselves: Change, Choice, and the Human Mind
February 18, 2024
One thing I’m feeling hopeful about is the direction of The Insight Alliance. There are so many fun things happening. We had our board retreat last weekend, and everyone was so engaged, energized and creative in thinking about what all we’re up to and where we want to focus our energy. I’m not going to share too much of the content here as it’s not “oven-ready”, but it’s so fun to get creative and imagine all the possibilities. Some of what we talked about is already in play like running Insight to Wellbeing in youth and adult facilities, in schools, in the federal system, and in the community. Some of it we’re in the middle of working on - 2.0 of our curriculum, recording a new virtual series, developing our podcast. And some of it is still in our imagination with hints of possibility. Super exciting. Our board was on fire! Last year was working through challenges, growing, learning, and reflecting on what and where we do best. This year is re-establishing and building our foundation stronger in order to expand and grow in the right direction. Along with more learning and reflection!
I continue to feel enamored by and am so appreciative of the essential qualities of the human mind. It’s natural ability to create, imagine, re-think, unlearn, and then learn some more and re-imagine. I know some minds are more open than others, some are more flexible, and some more rigid. But as the mind has the innate capacity to change and grow, we all possess the ability to have a more open and more flexible mind.
Expansion and learning are our birthright. That feels hopeful to me. Especially in moments of turmoil - in ourselves, our communities and in the world. We can see things differently at any moment. Things can always change, and nothing is fixed.
We see this all the time at The Insight Alliance. People growing and elevating. A perfect example of this is E.P. He’s on my mind as we’ve been closely in touch recently. He isn’t a straightforward success story. We have many of those, but this wasn’t one of them. We met in prison in our Insight to Wellbeing program. E.P released about 4 years ago. He had many hurdles to jump and was thrown so many curve balls. He fell back into his addiction more than once. He could always find work, but his charges made it hard for him to find housing. He went back to prison on a parole violation. On his release from jail ICE picked him up and he spent a few months in detention, thinking he might get deported, even though he was born in the US. His lawyer was awesome, and he got another chance.
But life on life’s terms had him tangled up in challenging circumstances and we lost touch for a while. But he’d always come back around. He’d say it was because of something he remembered from our program - a voice inside him reminding him he’s not broken. And that he has what it takes to live life well, and not to believe everything he’s thinking. His resilience is a testimony of the human spirit to keep pushing.
He turned himself back in a month ago as there was a warrant out for his arrest. He said he just wanted to deal with it and fight his case. Which he did. It was bogus. All charges were dropped and rightly so.
E.P had a fractious relationship with his dad and his sisters. They wanted to help, but they also couldn’t deal with his addiction. This time felt different. He had an insight while in jail that he wanted to get clean and have a relationship with his son and his family. He saw on a deeper level that his life is worth something. His determination and his clarity are infectious.
His dad saw something different in his son this time and his mind changed. He’s allowed him to come live with him. E.P got a new job; he has a sponsor and basically organized his life. He reeled off a bunch of things he’s done but I can’t begin to recite them all. I just remember the good feeling I felt from him. He asked me if we could help him get a bike so he could get to and from work. We started looking on Facebook Marketplace and found one close to where he lives. It was $60 and looked doable. The sweet women selling the bike said, “I can just give it away for free. I see you are doing something for a good cause. I’ll help in a small way.” How amazing is that! E.P picked up the bike last night. His experience reminds me once again that fresh thoughts, creativity, and resilience are alive within all humans no matter who you are, where you come from or whatever you’ve been through in life. And that’s so hopeful.
“We go through life. We shed our skin. We become ourselves” Patti Smith.