WHAT A FELON ON THE INSIDE TAUGHT A FELON ON THE OUTSIDE

BY: ELLY VON WEHREN

One of the most beautiful people I have known has been in prison for 5 years.  There is a huge stigma that comes with this statement, some of it probably deserved because we are human and we make mistakes, but a lot of it is more about allowing room for redemption. As a felon myself, I know the power of owning one’s truth. I have seen the grace of forgiveness and I know that there is a Guru, a teacher in our darkness if we use it as guide posts on our path in the light. Yoga teaches us that. Hatha is literally translated from Sanskrit as Ha meaning Sun and Tha meaning Moon. It's about bringing together all aspects of existence into unity. I want to share some of the wisdom I've learned from a woman brave enough to face herself on her worst days.

"There are no rainbows without rain." I would go so far as to say this is her mantra. These are the words that are forged into my memory when a storm of crazy is swirling through my life. When I first heard her say this, I thought it was a cute, cliché little saying. But as the years have gone on and it has weaved itself as a thread throughout these lessons I have learned from watching her grow, I now fully accept its validity. There are no rainbows without rain, you cannot know joy without knowing what pain is. In order to get to the other side, you have to do the work. She has taught me that change is possible no matter the circumstances. There are no excuses, you CAN become the person you want to be. And there is no better place to start than now. The line from Richard Bach’s book called Illusions that goes "What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly" is so exemplified by her it makes me laugh. She taught me that in order to change, you have to let go of who your mind is telling you that you are. The stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves, don't have to stay the same. It's a choice. It's all a choice. You have to be willing to wake up every day and fight for the life you want. You can grow as a person anywhere, anytime or better yet everywhere, every time. All we have is now. She taught me that anyone is capable of living the life they want. When the student is ready, the teacher appears.

Are you ready?