Gary Field DC# M05398
Everglades C.I.
1599 SW 187 Ave.
Miami, FL 33194

Tools for change - Reasons for Hope

In 49 B.C., a Roman general camped out at the Rubicon River in northern Italy. He had reached a point in his life when a critical decision had to be made. Should he move forward as expected or change the path he was on?

That general was Julius Caesar, and his decision changed not only his life but also the course of history. Rather than march his army into Gaul as ordered by the Senate, he turned his army back to Rome and forged his place in history.

Webster's now defines the word "Rubicon" not only as a river in northern Italy but also as, "a point of no return." What it has come to mean in literature is "a critical junction in one's life in which a critical decision must be made. It is a decision that commits someone to a particular course of action, hence the term, 'a point of no return.'"

At Everglades C.I., inmates can be said to reach such a juncture. A chance to change the way of life that may have led to incarceration and an opportunity to choose a different course.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is based on the premise that in order to change one's behavior, it is necessary to change one's thinking. So a change in one's personal life is preceded by a choice.

The challenge, as many have come to realize, is in finding the courage to change! Change often requires leaving the comfort zone of what is most familiar. However, when you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got. Far too often, those results are brought home by the clang of a holding cell door.

Everglades C.I. presents us with a Rubicon of sorts. We all walk the same compound, but it can lead to doors of opportunity or become like a boulevard of broken dreams.

When we begin to accept the fact that we are where we were today because of decisions we've made in the past, we can ask ourselves what kind of things can I begin to do today that will make a better tomorrow?

Everglades C.I.'s incentive program gives us that chance, but it's up to us to choose. The challenge is in finding the courage to change.

Gary S. Field

Hello, Gary Jr.
Eye has not been seen nor ear heard. Neither has it entered into the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him!

Dad