Mind blowing lesson learned in prison

Well, here’s a journey on which I was not expecting to embark in this season of confinement. And yet, it makes sense. It is fundamental to our interpersonal relationships, which are being tested in these confined times. So, off we go!

Today, I share with you the greatest lesson I learned in prison. It blew my mind when I first heard it. It blew my mind for its simplicity as well as my immediate realization of the extent of its truth:

Hurt people hurt people.

That is, when people hurt others, they themselves are also hurting inside.

Curious to understand its applicability to me, I started experimenting. I first paid attention to when I was hurting others and I quickly realized that my greatest form of hurt to others is to lash out.

I then turned my attention inwardly to uncover what I was feeling in those moments of hurting others. And I’ll tell you, I was hurting inside. Sometimes, I was really hurting inside.

There’s so much more to say here but, for now, I’ll give you space to experiment with this first idea.

Invitation: Spend the day - or however long you need - to identify the ways you hurt others. And then, when you catch yourself hurting others (or as quickly afterwards as you can), pay attention to how you’re feeling inside.

This is part of a series. You see, on April 1st, I realized that I have a unique perspective into confinement thanks to my past 4.5 years engaging several times a week with the world's leading experts on confinement: prison residents. For the month of April, I will provide a daily lesson learned in prison that will hopefully help us to survive and even thrive while confined to our homes. Go forward and back to enjoy each daily lesson.