This is Charley Hughes, better known as Sheik Bilal Abdul Salaam-Bey, currently housed at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility in Hutchinson, Kansas. This is the second part of “Conscious Initiative” from my newsletter, Conscious Outlook.
A mentor is someone who offers guidance and direction. Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” We have grit to be successful on this positive journey. There will be times when you want to quit because things get rough, but remember, you are not alone. Conscious Initiative is more than a call out. It is a fraternity.
We have pledged our lives to becoming better fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, uncles and friends and helping others do the same. We have to try and reach the youth that are struggling with gangs, drugs and violence, and show them that there is a better way to live life.
We are visionaries, so we need to find solutions to the problems that are plaguing our youth and our communities. If you are a father, you’re able to communicate with your children. Start sharing what you have learned and teach them how to be successful and prosperous in life. Younger people need to know that they are loved and cared for.
Most of us rebelled because we wanted attention that we weren’t getting at home. Let’s break that cycle and take the initiative to be consciously involved in the lives of the youth.
The only failure in life is failing not to try. We have to regain that role model role and represent someone, something, our sons, daughters, nieces and nephews, can look up to for positive reasons.
This space is reserved for those so-called jailhouse cooks. You can share your recipes in this space. Below is a recipe that I’ve come across and actually use. Shout out to brother Jerome Carter, Chris Shelton Jenkins, and brother Markel Dean. Don’t hold back. This page was made with y’all in mind. Smile.
This ingredient, this recipe is called “Hot Shot.” The ingredients are: two packs of hot cocoa, one spoon of coffee, one spoon of cappuccino, three starlight mints, one pack of sweetener and one chocolate candy bar. Instructions: warm water in a hot pot, add cocoa, coffee and cappuccino in your cup, smash the three mints, and then add to the cup. Add water to your cup along with sweetener, and stir mixture thoroughly until chocolate and coffee are dissolved, and then enjoy.
Once again, this is Bilal Abdul Salaam-Bey. Thank you all for your time, effort and energy. Anyone wishing to write me concerning this piece may do so by writing Charley Hughes #96576, Hutchinson Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 1568, Hutchinson, Kansas 67504. Or, you may look up prisonradio.org, click on “Correspondents” and find Sheik Bilal Abdul Salaam-Bey.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.