Dear Fellow Prisoner,
I hope that upon the publication of this letter, all of youse are in the very best of health. As for myself, I'm undergoing an attack from that most common of jail cancers, "stress".
That same stress is the reason for my writing this letter. You see, stress can "do" many things to individuals in this loneliest of environments, but only if we let it. This stress does not have to be given control of us, even though it sometimes is so overbearing that we wish we could give it up.
Everyday, each and everyone of us suffer from a bout of stress. A day of watching the mail man walk by your cell without dropping anything off, a letter dropped off which may turn out to be bad news or even the contemplation of what you wish to say in your next letter may cause this stress.
This stress should, instead of break us down, serve to encourage and motivate us to move on and work harder; it should convince us to "step the game up", in not so many words. For instance, the day we suffer the pain of watching the mailman walk by our cell without any mail addressed to us, we shouldn't lay back and mope around all day. What we should do is pull out our pens, papers, envelopes, stamps and write more letters; let your family know that even though they don't think about you they'll never be forgotten.
At the arrival of a letter containing bad news, cheer yourself up. If it's a death in the family, hold on to all the good memories you had about the times you spent with the person, think of how they would like you to react to their death (Would they want you to quit on life or would they rather you strive to excel, though you will miss them?) If it's a "Dear John" letter from a woman you loved, shed your tears, analyze your errors and possibilities of fixing them, and if there is no amending left in the relationship push it out your mind and search for a better woman.
If in doubt about how you wish to express yourself in your next letter, sit down and analyze your options: What angle can you come at the person? Would ignoring some parts of their letter be of more benefit or Do you have to clarify a point? To help you choose you can read their old letters or even ask a friend for advice (you're not a coward for asking advice) or just lay back and listen to the conversations had around you; alot of good advice is concealed in leisure chatter, you just have to look for it.
You see, "stress" isn't all that bad as long as you learn how to deal with it. Just look at me; I've been through all those types of stressful situations but instead of letting it "hold me down", I took the initiative and wrote this letter, sharing some of my pain with a group who would more than likely feel what I've been through. And at the same time, this letter will serve to give youse that little bit of encouragement that we're sometimes in need of to go on recognizing the good things in our day.
Sincerely,
A brother who feels your pain!
Jose 'Cripple' Rivera
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