| A Moment in Time
By Kelly Watts, Prisonersolidarity.org
March 1, 2006 Not one day in anyone’s life is uneventful. No day is without profound meaning, no matter how dull and boring it may seem. In every day of your life there are opportunities to perform a little kindness for others, both as conscious acts of will and as unconscious acts of example. It took years for me, as a prisoner, to look beyond my present circumstances and once again embrace life and look kindly upon others. I make a mental note to never pass a man without a smile or a word of encouragement. I’ve learned that each small act of kindness, even when just words of hope when they are needed, may give promise for that day. The remembrance of a birthday or a compliment that engenders a smile reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown and in the most
unlikely places. In this generous spirit one can find the echoing source of good, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it passes, until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away. Since being incarcerated with those brothers spiritually inclined in their faith, I’ve learned that all human lives are so profoundly and intricately entertwined. I find myself akin to those I’ve met who are now faced with execution or life without parole. Because the fate of all is the fate of
each, and the hope of humanity rests in every heart and in every pair of hands. I also believe that the triumphs and defeats in our life are the bridges we must travel for a fuller and better life. As in the words of Rev. Dr. King, may G-d bless him, “To know the way of a man is not to know where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience. But to know a man is to know where he stands in times of trial and controversy.” Therefore I contend that after every failure we are obliged to strive again for success, and when faced with the end of one thing we must build something new and better in the ashes, just as from pain and grief we must weave the intricate web of hope for each of us–for each of us is a thread critical to the strength of the human tapestry. —
Kelly Watts, # 35401
Azim Hassan Jahaar
11593 State Hwy. 0
Potosi Correctional Center
Mineral Point, MO 63660 Postscript: Kelly Watts is a native of Kansas City, Mo. He writes: “I write to define how I want to live life. Prayerfully, we could share our experiences through an interchange of communication. I look for a deeper smile inside another’s thoughts. It gets really lonely in here, especially when you lay down with your own thoughts. I reach out from my own confinement through reading and imagining myself as the many characters in books. I walk in the prison yard alone, mostly because I want to talk with God and get close to nature. I am presently writing a book entitled, The Beast Within, which regards the things I’ve personally experienced and seen over years of incarceration. You may contact Kelly Watts directly by writing to him at the address listed above. The following link offers tips for writing to prisoners: https://prisonersolidarity.org/TipsForWritingPrisoners.htm |