Good is good and bad is bad

I went to chill out with my sis, her bunch of friends and Jix and Brian tonight. It is a Friday night after all! It was quite fun, but it wasn't that fun with my TOTM :x heh. Well, I survive.

I've recently been very inspired by this psychologist that I've met who has been in service for 7 years. Karam, who only converted to Christianity 5 years ago, is the most personal psychologist I have met so far. He works magic with the inmates he meets, and he works magic on those who work with him professionally as well.

"I want you to draw an outline on your hand on this piece of paper. Think about all the bad things you have done with your hands: Robbing, punching, showing vulgar signs, slapping... Now i want you to turn that piece of paper over, an on the same outline of the hand, write all the good and beautiful things you can do with your hands."

"Vinny, can I ask a favour of you? The next time you see your mother, just tell her all the hopes you have in prison, all the hope you see in yourself in the future, all the hope for change. Tell her all that. Let her know what you want for yourself. And make her happy."

[stretches his hand out to Vinny. Vinny takes it] "Vinny, what did you just do?" [confused Vinny] "er, I shook your hand, sir." "Why did you do that?" "Because you gave your hand to me, sir." "Vinny, you can choose whether or not you want to accept my hand, just like you can choose whether or not to take the condemnation people are giving you here. What the people are doing is giving you something. YOU choose whether to take it or not." [stretches his hand out to Vinny once more] "Will you take it?" "No, sir." "Will you take it?" "No, sir!" "People can condemn you all you want, but if you choose to believe them, or let them get to you, you won't be able to move forward. Do you understand Vinny?" "Yes, sir!"

He goes beyond his call of duty, his job scope, to do what he passionately wants: to show love to everyone, inmates and colleagues and friends alike.

The interview with Vinny was only for the assessment of his eligibility of releasing early for work in the community, yet it evolved into a turning point for Vinny's understanding of himself, of his parents and his plans for the future. I have witnessed so many 'straightforward' interviews and expected this to be one of them. Vinny was highly neurotic and was talking non-stop, being diagnosed as having schizophrenia, then anxiety disorder/phobia and then unspecified personality disorder. It was very clear that he was unsuitable for any early release schemes for his own and the community's safety. But with Karam, every interview was not a routine thing just for the sake of writing a respectable report. He takes every interview as an oppourtunity given by God to touch the life of one that God has created. His perspective of things is so different, and that's what makes the difference.

During the interview, I felt my throat tighten and my chest well up so many times, because I could sense that the work he was doing with Vinny was so sincere, and so earnest, that for a moment, all the souls of the people in the room was experiencing just pure joy. It's so difficult to explain, and my words probably dont' give it justice, but I know one thing for sure.

I want to be like him.

I want to be able to reach down within myself, to challenge myself to remain loving, even when the world is cruel, to remain passionate about change, even when everyone is resistant to it, to remain faithful, even when others have lost faith.