How might you walk with a little more joy and lightness if you viewed your suffering as part of the human experience, not a penalty?

A pile of letters going out to the women’s prison. The letter exchange takes place weekly. Over 150 people participate inside and outside.

Introduction: An Insight

Happy Sunday, everybody. It's been a couple of months since I last wrote. I hope you're well.

In my effort to restart this newsletter, I want to share insight that has been a recurring theme in our classes at the prison—and one that might offer you a useful perspective as you navigate the week ahead.

Key Insight: Understanding Suffering

One of the most powerful lessons we've been exploring over and over again is the understanding that suffering is not a form of punishment.

This insight has been transformative for the women and for me, offering us a way to view our challenges and pains through a lens of compassion rather than judgment.

This week, I invite you to reflect on this: How might you walk with a little more joy and lightness if you viewed your suffering as part of the human experience, not a penalty?

Reflective Exercise: Shifting Perspectives

Consider any current challenges in your life. Explore these questions in you mind and on paper:

• What changes when you stop viewing suffering as punishment?

• How does this shift in perspective influence your feelings towards yourself and others?

• How much weight do we carry when we think God is punishing us for our mistakes and mishaps?

As you explore these questions, consider how stepping outside the blame game may free you to live more fully.

Teaching, Learning, and Growing Together

Since my last message to you, I've continued teaching classes at the prison. Our current class has nearly 60 women, alongside a diverse community outside, including Miami Dade College students and participants in a parallel community course.

Classroom Highlights: Meditation and Literature

In our sessions inside and outside the prison walls, we meditate and explore texts like Yann Martel's Life of Pi and Norman Fisher'sTraining in Compassion, which reinforce the power of story and imagination in addressing life's disappointments and losses.

These classes are community building efforts, reminding us that we don't make it through life on our own. No one does. Part of our dis-ease is the effort to go at it on our own, pulling ourselves by our own bootstraps.

Love is always more than one.

Community Invitation

I share this insight with you not just as information but as an invitation. Whether in the free world or behind bars, we all encounter suffering.

Your sufferings are not a verdict on your worth but part of our shared humanity. They nudge us together.

In June we will start a new cohort. I encourage you to join us, engage with these ideas, and perhaps find some joy and lightness in participating.

Closing Thoughts

As we step into the week, I encourage you to mull over this message.

May it be a source of comfort, connection, and growth.

Wishing you well on this Sunday.

Take good care.

-Carlos