redemption

I have always been interested in stories about individuals who "find themselves" as a result of drudging through difficult situations. To go into the wilderness and come out a better individual. To be deep in whatever hell [you] may be trapped in, and return the wiser and stronger. To be redeemed, or restored, is a gift that I think we all strive for in some form or fashion. No matter what, no matter how we've "fallen," or even how far we may fall, most of us, if not all, can relate to struggle, hardship, and setback. For whatever reason, it's the downfalls in life that are so relevant, a universal common ground. That's why the proverbial "underdog" is so popular. That's why Christians shout, "We shall overcome." Because, in the end, we all have something to overcome. The where and how "we" overcome that something... that's the stuff that makes for a great story.

Every Bruce Banner has his unbearable anger. Every Peter Parker has his Mary Jane. Every hero has his downfall - but that's what makes heroes so great, isn't it? Who wants his/her hero to be perfect? Sure, we want them to be "better" than us - to give us something to look up to, and to aspire to, but do we want them to be perfect? I would venture to say that no, we don't. We don't want someone who is so removed from the realities of life. We want our heroes to be individuals we can relate to. We want our heroes to go through the same struggles we go through. We want our heroes to face their downfalls head-on, and to come out on top. It's not the power that we admire. It's not the differences that make a hero a HERO. It's the common struggle, the sameness, that aspect that allows us to say, "I've been there too, he (or she) is just like me."

The truth of the matter is, we all have our own "wilderness." We have all had to wander. We've all had to fight. And if we haven't, we will. Above all, it's the hope of overcoming that keeps even the worst of struggles from getting us down. Hope... now that is a powerful thing.

I recently came across two incredible stories that illustrate how powerful redemption can be. The lives of Kenneth Hartman and Stan "Tookie" Williams, two individuals who were marred by the decisions that overcame them and overcame the consequences of their decisions, serve as perfect examples of the archetypal "wilderness story."

(You can find all of my bookmarks regarding these individuals @ delicious.com/lutz24)

Kenneth Hartman has served 30 continuous years in the California prison system for killing a man when he was 19 years old. He spent the beginning part of his life-sentence proving that he deserved to be behind bars - doing drugs, brutalizing his enemies, getting thrown into solitary confinement, and other nefarious deeds. Remarkably, he turned his life around. After entering a relationship, while still behind bars, he began to realize that there is more than what he was aspiring to. An incredible tale, Hartman dropped all of his debauchery, took classes, got transferred to new prisons, got married to his girlfriend, had a child (through conjugal visits), he published articles, he helped create an Honors System for prisoners willing to uphold strict rules, and authored books. His story proves that even the most horrendous men, the men that society strives to forget, can invest themselves in daily life, turn their stories around, and come out on top.

The second story that I came across is that of Stanley Williams, or, how he is better known, "Tookie." Stan "Tookie" Williams, along with friends from South Central Los Angeles, California, founded the notorious street gang, the "Crips." He was convicted of four murders, over the course of initial robberies - a convenience store worker, and two Los Angeles motel owners and their daughter - and was sentenced to death in 1981. He spent the majority of his life, from 1981 to 2005 (the year that he was executed) in the California state prison system. Over the course of his life-sentence, he aimed to redeem himself, and wrote a series of children's books disavowing gang violence. He was nominated five times for a Nobel Prize for peace and four times for a Nobel Prize for literature.

Two men who were beaten down by the decisions they had made. Two men who decided to turn their lives around, to come out of the wilderness that much more the better. Two men who were redeemed.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible. "
- Walt Disney