Humanity & Humility...

Meet Alfred Duncan.  Mr. Duncan is a senior officer in the Tower Street Prison where we were lucky to teach our first  Prison-SMART (Stress Management and Rehabilitation Training) course.  This last week, The Art of Living Foundation awarded Mr. Duncan for his tireless efforts in serving the prisoners but most importantly for his attitude.

When we attend a concert and soak in the talent or listen to a well-written speech, we clap our hearts out, don’t we?   Well, when Mr. Duncan was asked to approach the stage (on the soccer field in the prison in front of the entire inmate population) and was presented the plaque. The men jumped with joy and yes, clapped their hearts out.  As I was taking pictures of the award presentation, I literally had to stop, turn around, and watch them as they cheered...it wan't too different to welcoming the main act at a rock concert.  You could hear the sincerity in their applause.  They cared for this man as much as he cared for them.  As a reminder, this is a maximum-security prison and many of these men are in for a range of crimes you can only imagine …and they are often in for many, many years.   

So, what makes this man special?  Let me ask you, the reader, when the words “maximum-security prison” are mentioned, what comes to your mind?  What words would you use to describe people in the prison?  Before this week, the words that would have come to my mind would not have been positive.  What Mr. Duncan has taught me in a short few days is, “these men are my brothers; at some point, I’ll share a bus ride with them, and they might even be my neighbors.”   It isn’t out of fear that he treats these men with respect, it is out of respect – each one of them is a human being.  They might have made a mistake but that doesn’t make them any less human than you and I.  Don’t we all make mistakes every day?  Maybe theirs came from being in the wrong place at the wrong time OR they were influenced in doing the wrong thing, OR they just didn’t have the tools we do OR their circumstances drove them to do what they did and they didn’t have the mental strength to walk away OR, maybe they were wrongfully convicted.  When speaking to a head of another non-profit that had worked with prisoners, she conveyed, "if you heard these prisoners life stories, you would understand how they got there."  We now understood this. The creator of the Prison SMART program (the founder of Art of Living) says, “ inside every culprit is a victim”.  I see now these words are so true.  Whatever the reason, only if we treat these people with respect, provide them the tools to transform and give them another chance, will this world be safer and a better place for all of us.  

We’ve learnt many things this week but Mr. Duncan’s humanity to the men in the prison is a lesson all us can take a note off.  He’s decided not to judge them and most importantly find a place in his heart for each and every one of them.  And as amazing as Mr. Duncan is, he is just as humble. The humility that he possesses is truly rare.   He does his job not for any recognition but simply because it's who he is. And he's been doing this for 15+ years.

Seeing the men’s diligent efforts during the course, genuine respect for us, the teachers, and desire to change made us think.  If we could accept and believe in the goodness of these men, certainly, couldn’t we accept and believe in everyone else in our lives?  Imagine what this world would be like if we could take a small ounce of Alfred Duncan’s attitude and incorporate it in our lifestyles.  What if we took the same approach with our colleagues, friends, and neighbors and yes, even strangers who seem stranger than strange?  It may perhaps seem to be hard to do...but wouldn’t it be well worth it?