Today I thought I’d continue discussing a few more things I have learned that have helped me improve myself.
Another area I have improved more is praying more for others. As mentioned previously, I have learned to pray more sincerely. Now instead of praying for just 2 or 3 people, I try to sincerely pray for many more and specifically visualize them when praying.
The next thing I have improved about myself is being more appreciative of things we normally take for granted such as: clean restrooms, edible food, clean showers, safe environment, refrigeration/freezer and even the ability to travel.
The typical restrooms in my unit (dorm) get cleaned maybe once a week. No soap, no paper towels or even toilet paper is ever there. They usually smell nasty.
The inmates cook the food and usually they do not care about anyone but themselves so we inmates usually have a 50/50 shot at the food being edible. For example, they usually do not bother cooking the potatoes all the way or boiling pasta long enough. When this happens, nobody eats them and it gets thrown away.
Regarding the showers, lets just say the ground should be power washed with bleach. I wear flipflops while showering.
Regarding a safe environment, several inmates can be high strung and you just want to mind your own business so they do not go off on you. In addition, the prison is all talk no game for social distancing. Just last week I got locked in a narrow hallway with at least 100 other inmates for an hour. We were getting commissary items and usually they let us leave once we get our items. Not that day. Very unsafe and no guards were down there to tell.
Regarding refrigeration/freezer, we do not have any way of putting items that need to be refrigerated anywhere so if someone buys cheese or other perishable items like ice cream, they must eat it right away. Obviously one could not do that last week since we were locked in for an hour.
Regarding travel, sometimes just having the ability to go out for a long day or weekend activity such as a baseball game, state fair, cattle show, etc… is great. Being in prison prohibits that obviously. When I get out, I plan on even enjoying my trips to the grocery store.
Hopefully you are getting a better idea on things I am valuing more since being in prison. Next time, I will write about a few more.