To end the idea that anything that is accomplished regarding those who have done damage to others within our society, can be done without the presence of dignity, grace and loving kindness. How is it that the richest nation in the world has the highest rate of incarceration of its citizens? Could it be that everything we think we understand about recovery and reclamation of lives is applied almost nowhere within the prison system in the United States? How is it we think we can punish people into wellness? Why is it that we continue to confuse who people are with their behavior? Examples: Prisons, Job Corps.

Are you willing to take this message to the Departments of Corrections in your state or your country?

Nick Groth led me to vast amounts of information. The most important piece he gave me was about why he had been able to get through to these men at Somers. I assumed it was his training, degrees, and his scholarship. Nick assured me they were not it. The degrees were a factor and the critical factor from Nick’s point of view was getting these individuals to know that they are loved (i.e. cared about, valued) and that they are able to make choices. Nick had been successful in separating these men from their behavior powerfully enough for them to realize they were worth something. Why else would a group of men spend an extended day talking with the father of a child that was raped? It must have been like being with the fathers of their own victims.

IF IT IS POSSIBLE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, WITH THESE MEN, IT IS POSSIBLE AT EVERY MOMENT IN EVERY ENVIRONMENT WITH ANYONE.

What is required is a conscious commitment on the part of all of us to be part of the solution. It is not complicated and it is going to require merciless discipline on everyone’s part.

People who are well, know that they are loved and are powerful enough to make good choices, don’t damage other people. All of the damage in our society comes from people who do not feel well about themselves. The young men who did the shooting in Colorado were part of a group everyone treated as outcasts, isolated from the rest of the student body. Well people don’t shoot their classmates. Well people don’t rape children or anyone else. Well people don’t beat their spouses. Well people don’t engage in road rage. Well people do not mock or verbally assault their peers. Well people don’t create puppet governments with tyrants as leaders and ignore or worse abuse the rest of the country’s population. Well people do not allow tens of thousands of people to die needlessly each week of hunger, starvation and persistent hunger. Well people don’t kill anyone. Well people don’t damage others. Period.

Have we been clear?

What is missing?

Are you willing to be a walking demonstration of loving-kindness?

Are you willing to contribute and help us raise the tens of thousands of dollars necessary to let people know that what is wanted and needed is known?

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