The Lesson a "Lifer" in Prison Taught Me

Have you ever learned a profound lesson from the most unlikely of places?

One that gave you … the chills?

That’s what happened to me recently… but it came from a place most people don’t ever visit in their lifetimes: a prison.

Yup, THAT kind of prison.

For the past while, I’ve had the privilege to occasionally volunteer at the State Correctional Facility here in Utah.

Built on the barren and mosquito infested marshes of the great Salt Lake, the prison is pretty remote and far away from any signs of civilization.

Normal passersby don’t ever end up there on accident. Its actually quite hard to find.

But I guess that’s kind of the point though.

After you go through a metal detector, and are escorted through a series of massive electrified gates that would fend off a T-Rex, you are led into a concrete fortress of locking doors and hallways.

As you go further into the lockdown zone, whenever a massive steel plated door shuts behind you, the weight of the sound echoes with a silent finality.

Once inside, I’ve met men who are doing time for things much heavier than the doors.

The kinds of things you only read about in police reports and court orders.

Some have a chance of completing their sentence and eventually living a normal life on the outside.

Others will never leave. They’re called the “lifers.”

But the one thing they all have in common is that they must wear identifiable, standard issue, baggy jump suits wherever they go.

Each shirt is emblazoned with “UDC Inmate” over their shoulders and backs. UDC being short for the “Utah Department of Corrections.”

But here is where the remarkable moment happened.

“Do you know what that really means?” one of the grizzled lifers asked me once, “The words UDC?”

Surprised by the question, I responded that I didn’t.

“UDC,” he said softly… his voice quivering, “really means, ‘Under Divine Care.’” Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.

Several other inmates stood around him, nodding quietly.

There in the most remote of places…

There where the very buildings evoke a sense of total authority and control…

There in the lowest level that our society can afford…

These men miraculously found hope that God was mindful of them, and was with them.

In short, in the most unlikely of places, they took control of the meaning of their lives.

I don’t know about you, but it gave me the chills.

Because there standing before me was a man who…

Though every moment of his life is (rightfully) controlled and dictated by someone else…

Though he will never leave that wind swept and heavily guarded outpost alive…

…In one sense this man was more free than the millions of people who live their lives outside of the barbed wire fence.

Because he had made the decision to control the meaning of his life… however much of it was left.

(Photo Courtesy of KUTV)

After our visit had ended, and after I was led through the doors, and electrified fences, I gave a sigh of relief when I made it to my car in the parking lot.

But as I turned the keys in the ignition and heard the engine roar to life, I remember feeling an odd sensation. As the radio blared, and my phone notifications “dinged” in the background, the normal noise of life clamored for my attention.

Did it all seem louder than I remembered?

That’s when I thought about the man and his profound words and wondered:

Do I assign meaning to the things in my life? Or do I let other people do it for me?

How many of my disappointments, frustrations, and stresses are amplified because of the narratives OTHER people have given me?

What would it look like if I took that power back?

More importantly what would happen if you did the same? Can you imagine the difference it would make?

This week… when you feel stress or frustration, take a moment and think of my friend at the prison. Ask yourself: “Who is writing the meaning of this moment? Me or someone else?”

Are you letting the UDC’s in your life mean, Utah Department of Corrections? Or Under Divine Care?

One of my favorite quotes by the legendary Tony Robbins is: “If you want to change your life, control the only thing you can control: the meaning you give something.”

I guess some would call that freedom…

May you be Under Divine Care this week… wherever you stand.

Christian

CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com