Times Of Swaziland: WORDS OF WISDOM FOR RELEASED INMATES

WORDS OF WISDOM FOR RELEASED INMATES
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Editor on 14/10/2024 13:16:00


Sir,
As an ex-offender, please allow me space in your publication to share my words
of wisdom to my former inmates. Jesse Jackson once said: “I am fighting
against odds, I was born against the odds, I was raised against odds, I’m an
odd breaker and a dream maker.” This means that in life don’t see what you
have lost, see what you are left with. Determination is a wake-up call to the
human will; if you are determined enough you can get it done. Never give up,
because in life there is no motion without friction, no greater star without a
scar and there is no story of triumph without trials.
Discovered
I have discovered that before any major breakthrough in life one has to face or
go through a major severe storm that will make people think that the end has
come. Every storm is pregnant with one’s testimony and decorations, therefore,
storms are not meant to destroy you, but they are meant to clear your path.
Always remember that it is not the giants in life that can defeat you. It is not
the storm of life that can defeat you. If you are defeated, it is because you
have defeated yourself by thinking wrong things, wrong beliefs, wrong motives
and wrong speaking. Holding onto hurt and wishing or praying that something bad
happens to the person who has hurt you is like drinking poison and hoping that
another person dies instead of you. This is because not forgiving the one who
has hurt you is like drinking weevil tablets and expect someone to die as a
result of you drinking them.
Forgiving
Not forgiving someone chains you to your past and further poisons your future,
and it keeps you away from what the Lord has in store for you in the future.
Your future is brighter than every ugly thing that you have done, that other
people have done or said to you in the past; it is also bigger and beautiful
than your past. No matter what life throws at you, you must succumb and be
determined to learn from that experience. Refuse discouragement and refuse to be
distracted and tempted into paying much attention to other voices no matter how
loud they may sound. What lies behind you and what lies before you are tiny
matters compared to what lies within you. Do not forget who you are who you
think you are so think the best for yourself. The mistakes that you have made
don’t carry them around with you, instead place them under your feet and use
them as stepping stones to your destiny.
Do not allow the environment to determine who you are, but command the
environment to also obey your destiny. Be positive, speak what is positive
because you become what you speak. Do not condemn yourself and respect all the
Correctional officers whom you come across because they are there to help you
including the commissioner general and other senior officials.
Ex-offender