A story from juvenile detention.
Detainee Joe possessed very few of life’s more longed for gifts. A family that by any measure could barely be called one, he was very much alone on life’s journey.
He was the sort of person our inner self wants to run from, and most did through laughter and derision.
Joe was mowing lawns with other boys when I walked by: “Father Ramsay. Father! My father!” he called out from a distance.
“Ah, shut up ya gronk! He’s not your father.” The other boys taunted.
“Yes I know”, a crest-fallen Joe replied. But if he was, I wouldn’t be locked up in here!
My heart sank like a rock. I felt the depth of his pain and hopeless despair with all the punch it could give.
A pain in the midst of which lay an awareness of the central tragic issue of his life:
Born - then left to sink or swim.
I too felt powerless, but I knew that I could choose to give some power to his life in some measure if I allowed him to even imagine, for a time, a reality that he could only dreamed of.
My power lay in living the awareness of four great truths:
- The Spiritual:
… a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, … the body is not made up of one part but of many. (1 Corinthians 12.12-21)
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ...
- The Psychological:
Erick Erickson’s fifth stage of growth. Identity vs. Role Confusion
Up to this stage, according to Erikson, development mostly depends upon what is done to us. From here on out, development depends primarily upon what we do. (see reference below)
- The Biological:
DNA studies indicate that all modern humans share a common female ancestor who lived in Africa about 140,000 years ago, and all men share a common male ancestor who lived in Africa about 60,000 years ago. (see reference below)
- The Sociological:
We live in COMMUNITY! No one is an Island!
Every Man is the father of every boy!
This is the foundation of all personal responsibility
towards others!
Love your neighbour's as yourself, because they are like you!
References'
