Thought for the Week: Prisoners

In January of this year, my work was going well and the number of my clients was increasing. It was going to be the best year, ever.

On 21st of March, that all stopped. Coronavirus lockdown: my work was stopped indefinitely.

I was imprisoned at home, trapped…isolated…except for daily exercise, essential shopping and working in the garden. But it was comfortable, warm and I had contact with family and friends.

Soon, I was put in mind of people who have been thrown in dirty, unsanitary, cold, brutal prisons for decades, like ‘Abdu’l-Baha, son of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith. Yet, He was not unhappy, despite the harshness of his surroundings. When I read his words, I began to understand why: "After being forty years a prisoner, I can tell you that freedom is not a matter of place. It is a condition." “Unless one accepts dire vicissitudes he will not attain. When one is released from the prison of self, that is indeed a release.”

Simon Trick, member of the Baha'i faith

 

Date: Monday 20th July 2020