Wisdom From The Cells
Have you ever heard of the word “monk?”
Monks were men who made the decision to completely dedicate their lives to God. They found the drugs and violence of their medieval villages so spiritually harmful that the only way to stay grounded was to leave—often retreating into the desert. There, they formed communities known as monasteries, living in small rooms called *cells*, where they prayed, reflected, and worked.
One of the first monks, Anthony, even spent time living in a cave to better understand who he was and what God wanted of him. In many ways, incarceration today forces a similar kind of reflection. The cell becomes a cave. A place to look inward. A place where transformation begins.
The first modern-day “incarcerated monastery” emerged in Corcoran State Prison in 2009. On a Level 4 yard, young men who had been at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall formed a brotherhood—not unlike the monks of old—coming together to pray and write.
In the Middle Ages, monks were some of the only literate members of society. They preserved wisdom by writing. Today, a new generation of incarcerated men and women are doing the same. From inside prison cells and juvenile halls, they are reflecting deeply—and writing down what they’ve learned.
We hope the reflections on this page will speak to you. Whether you’re behind walls or wrestling with life outside them, you may find something here that invites you to reflect, heal, and grow.
Reflections from the Inside During COVID-19 Social Media
Improving Spirituality Amidst COVID-19
A reflection from a man who is currently in a California State Prison
With this situation of the Covid 19 at the start it was like “oh, well” it is just another flu going around it is just like every season no biggie. It wasn’t just me who had this “oh well” attitude. As the week went by, I heard it on the news every it became old news
. The following week was when it became a serious matter. I have observed the statistics of the number of people being affected and dying. With the facts that the elderly or the ones with the highest risk of death due to the virus. My concern for my parents became amplified each time I listened to the news. Now I am trying to get on the phone everyday to speak with my parents, to stress to them about the precautionary measures to avoid this virus and how to follow the social distance and only allow family in their homes that take these precautions when visiting them. My parents kept saying to me that I shouldn’t worry about them, that they’re old and have lived their lives and they are on the way out. My parents also said to worry for the younger family members and for myself because of my age. It hit me that I am in the age range of vulnerability and need to shake off the “Oh, well” attitude of not caring for myself with this virus. Because the attitude I had was “Oh, well” if it hits me so be it. After giving it some thought I figured why would I want to cause any more grief to my parents if it happened that I contracted a virus and became one of the casualties COVID-19. All because I didn’t want to consider age, my vanity that my wearing a face mask is not cool, and making excuses that it’s difficult to breath or it’s too hot wearing the mask. After doing some thinking about the seriousness of this virus, I decided to wear a mask that my cellmate brought from work. Upon further thought I had to look out for my cellmate’s best interest and have consideration for others around me. This is all before CDCR implemented mandatory rules to wear a mask when stepping out of the cell. Now my spirits are back up and consideration for others is back in place. At the start of it, I only considered myself. It was only about me. I didn’t want to lose my parents over the virus and go through the grief and pain. Never did I consider others pain and grief if I contracted a virus and passed that on and caused grief to somebody’s loved ones. So it’s been an experience at this chaotic moment. I feel for those on the outside who have lost or will lose their employment, homes, and have challenges providing for their families. The negative effects are ready on the rise that also comes from stress for example, domestic violence, separation of families, divorce, and alcohol abuse. Let’s hope that this vaccine is found soon before more lives are ruined. I have everyone in prayer.
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Essay on Improving Spirituality During This Pandemic
First and foremost, I want to thank our volunteers for giving us their time and effort! You have put hope and knowledge in my life through every group you have provided here for us. Thank you for letting me see there’s hope. That means so much to me. My life has changed drastically because of COVID-19. This virus is to be taken seriously because, as I write this essay, more than 100,000 people have lost their lives. I don’t take it for granted anymore. Prisoners like myself are lucky to have a bed to lay on, or three meals a day to eat. There are people out there without any of this, and I feel fortunate at times. My prison sentence is for 15 years, and as every day goes by, I am the one-day closer to getting home. Prison life has changed, but mostly all one does is make up something to do for every hour by the hour. Well, I am speaking for myself. I have no real responsibilities other than keeping myself out of trouble, getting healed and doing my assigned work. At times, it takes a toll on me mentally because of my family, kids, and friends who cannot visit me. I am really close to my little sister, so she’s kind of frustrated that she can’t see her brother, or talk to me like she normally would. That frustrates me a lot, and at certain times I break down mentally and physically. So, I have to move forward because I’m still incarcerated, and stressing out is only holding me back to fulfilling my potential. I can only concentrate on myself at this point in my life, because I have no control of the outside, or even of circumstances here. COVID-19 has shut down our movement. Behind the prison walls we can’t do anything except participate in our daily recreational yard, make a phone call and take a shower. That is what our day consists of every day. Our privileges have been snatched from us, such as visiting with loved ones, or even getting a basketball game outside. There are no group classes, or any type of class, which are things I once took for granted. I’ve gotten used to the minimum in here, and I pray for us all every day, and I ask God to keep us safe and strong-minded. The reality for me is that COVID-19, sorry to say, has helped me drastically. I have stopped using needles and have gotten my mental health back to where it was supposed to be. I have read books from front to back. I have gotten close to God in every way. I’m working out now, and grooving in every possible way, and most importantly, I’m concentrating on myself and not worried about anyone else’s nonsense. So to me, other than taking away my visits, the shut-down has helped me a lot. I can do my time just like this. I was moving pretty fast before all this, and there is no telling where I would be if all this didn’t happen. Life is full of obstacles, but it’s up to me what I make of it. I am the only one who has control over me, no matter what the current circumstances are. I analyze things more now because of the time we have to ourselves. God is heavily in my life now. So, by any means necessary, I am going to do everything in my power to stay away from negativity and remain positive through it all. Now, the world itself has its own obstacles to beat. The world is in chaos right now because of cops killing innocent people. The struggle is way more difficult than ours at this present time. So, in my opinion, we are highly blessed and taken care of. I want to thank you all for your time and effort, and I pray every day that I get a chance to see you once again. I am very grateful for you all, and I hope you enjoyed my essay.