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<\/a><\/p>\nBeing in the situation that I am in, there tends to be quite a lot of self-help and betterment books around. These are often filled with quotes from history about what humanity should aspire to be. One that I ran across that has really stuck with me is from Edith Wharton, which says, \u201cThere are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In thinking about this, I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that no matter whether we are the light or the mirror, we must take the initiative to try! There must be a wholehearted decision to pick a path of righteous living. Certainly, there will be times when we \u201cfake it to make it\u201d (reflecting the light), but these times will be steeped in learning and conditioning, since good and righteous living through feelings and behavior are best for me and the world (being the light).<\/p>\n
Starting off by imitating others who are helping the community and helping to make the world better is a far better action than to sit in self-pity and loathing. I no longer feel that the world is just a messed up place and \u201cthat\u2019s just how it is\u201d and \u201cthere is no hope for me.\u201d Eventually, I can become the light!<\/p>\n
By becoming the light, I can influence others who want to become the light in a dark world. It won\u2019t be easy, and it won\u2019t be quick. But it will be worth it to help those who are making our communities better, safer and friendlier places to live.<\/p>\n
Matthew N. <\/strong><\/p>\n(aka \u201cJerry Maguire\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″] Weekly Journal A Teaser… Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Today was an amazing day in PEP.\u00a0 We studied the most important aspect of the program: character development. At this stage of character development, we went over the Better Man […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n
Week\nin Review<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMonday, July 27, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nPEP is, perhaps, going through\nthe biggest trial of its existence. This epidemic has created challenges that\nare seemingly insurmountable and make it ever more important to live by the 10 Driving\nValues. Examples include those who are still growing in their journeys from\nconvict to an authentic man, or from prisoner to someone who is truly free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I look around, I see that\nwe are a bit lost and in need of direction. Many of us are not ready to walk on\na new path without someone holding our hand to guide us. There are those of us\nwho are ready, but those of us who are not (or not willing to follow those who\nare).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All we can do is continue our\njourney, and lead by example as much as possible. It is said that nothing in life\nthat is worth the effort is ever easy. This is probably never truer than\nnow. Our brothers\u2019 will to win and our\ndrive to succeed is being tested \u2013 still, we will get through this. Those of us\nwho have the strength, the desire and the will to persevere will come out the\nother side of this stronger and better than they have ever been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us hope that we have the\nintegrity to stay true to our choice to be better men. Let us hope that we have\nthe servant-leader mentality to lead by example and put our needs aside to help\nothers. May we all show innovation and come up with new and relevant ways to\nwork through these difficulties. May we continue to be wise stewards of the\nprogram that we represent. May we continue to execute with excellence, holding\nourselves accountable in love, while maintaining our fresh start outlook and\nremembering to have fun throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clifford\nW. (a.k.a. \u201cCheddar Bob\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nTuesday, July 28, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDuring this difficult period in\ntime, PEP means everything love is about. We all love one another, and this is\nthe time when we must be able to put all of our differences aside and come\ntogether. We as PEP brothers are family. Family is there for you when you need\nthem the most. Even though the program has slowed down a bit, we still conduct\nourselves as if things haven\u2019t changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the first time any of\nus has been through anything like this. This is a time where we really don\u2019t\nknow what the next man is thinking, so it is important for all of us to treat\none another like you want to be treated. This is a time that we can get to know\neach other on a personal level. None of us knows exactly how long any of this\nis going to last. PEP has shown us how to be more open to people. PEP means\nthat we are not alone and that we have brothers who are genuinely there for us,\nready to help with anything. PEP hasn\u2019t given up on any of us. It has made us\nstronger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of the 10 Driving Values\nhave become an everyday thing. Integrity and accountability are like the glue\nthat keeps all connected. We will make it through these difficult times because\nPEP is all about overcoming. Our drive to overcome is what keeps us going. We\nall believe that there are brighter days ahead of us, so we encourage one\nanother to stay strong and keep the faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corey\nW. (a.k.a. \u201cDonkey from Shrek\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWednesday, July 29, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDuring this difficult time here\nat the Estes Unit, we have all been staying strong. We are all still pushing\nforward to be successful, not only in life but here in PEP as well. We know\nthat we are not getting the same experience that all of the other classes have\ngone through. However, we are standing strong and ready to move forward and get\npast this difficult period in our lives. We have some great support here in the\nPEP program, including PEP\u2019s In-Prison Management, all of our Peer Educators,\nmentors, pod coaches and all of the accountability leaders who are always there\nto talk to if we need them. Everybody has been helpful in getting us through\nthis time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far we have finished our\nToastmasters speeches in our dorms, and we have also been busy working on our\nbusiness pitches. We still continue to have our pod meetings and enjoy game\nnights to break the monotony of prison life. We play domino tournaments, water\npong tournaments, \u201csock in a bucket\u201d and shuffleboard. It is nice to have game\nnight to help to relieve stress. We have been doing plenty to stay busy during\nthis crisis, and PEP has been a blessing for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
PEP has helped us in many ways.\nWe have learned a lot of things and believe that this program is important to\nour future. We know that it will be helpful in our success. We want to thank\nPEP staff and the executives who put forth the effort during this tough time.\nWe know that it is not easy out there, and we want to give a shout out to you\nall and especially our families, who have been a great support to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brandon\nW. (a.k.a. \u201cBaby Pterodactyl\u201d)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThursday, July 30, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDuring\nthis difficult time, we have faced unforeseen challenges. But despite these\nobstacles, as a whole we have been able to succeed in our endeavors. Many of us\nhave lost loved ones and had our future plans change as a result. Yet even in\nthe face of these difficulties, we have banded together as a brotherhood of men,\nunited in the common cause of creating a brighter future for ourselves as well\nas our families. We have learned that every day, there will be things that\narise in our lives we have no control over and must learn to adapt to changing\ncircumstances. Our camaraderie and mutual support has improved our character\nand reminded us that there is always a chance to become better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our\nbusiness plans are finished, and we have learned to see things through until\nthe end. We have found new ways of doing business and ways to provide a future that\nare far removed from the actions that led us to this place. We work together to\nimprove our plans and make a positive impact on society, regardless of how we\nmay be thought of by that society. This program has taught us discipline and\nperseverance, as well as how to research and plan effectively for any challenge\nin our future. We believe there is nothing we cannot do if we put the right\neffort into it. What we have learned will go a long way toward creating a\nsubstantial income and productive lifestyle wherever we end up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colbin\nW. (a.k.a. \u201cGlitter Troll\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nExpressions \n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cAs man thinketh, so is\nhe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n~ Proverbs 23:7<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis\nquote was so profound and personal to me. One would think that the way you\nthink of yourself may lead to prosperity or good living, but it\u2019s not always\nthat easy. It\u2019s not always the case for someone who has gone through life\nmaking mistake after mistake. At some point, I had to reevaluate the way that I\nsaw myself in order to move on \u2013 not just move on, but move on in a positive\nway. I realized I was getting in my own way and repeated the same mistakes. I\nhave questioned myself for years until I joined PEP and worked at incorporating\nthe 10 Driving Values. \u201cFresh Start\u201d Outlook is the value that made me refer\nback to these wise words. I realized I had never truly given myself a fresh\nstart. I was stuck in the way I always viewed myself. I believe it was because\nI didn\u2019t think I could get beyond my mistakes. I made them and I owned them.\nAccountability is not my issue. I have to give myself a chance and start living\nup to my full potential. I believe that I have started that now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of\ncourse, it has been a struggle like no other. PEP has shown me so much about myself\nI didn\u2019t know. I think that is why I was so hard on myself. It wasn\u2019t just one\nthing I had to address; it was several. The first months in PEP showed me how\ndeeply flawed I was. Now I know I should utilize what I have learned to help\nbuild my life. I am in control of what I think. I will not allow anyone or\nanything else to dictate that to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin Z. (a.k.a. \u201cRubber Ducky\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/estes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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