"I can say that God might have put me in prison to save my life." - Anthony Ray Hinton.
Let me provide some context.
29 years old.
Wrongly convicted of murder.
Evidence clearly proving innocence was overlooked.
Sentenced to death.
Spent 30 years on death row.
Anthony Ray Hinton never lost hope.
He had faith.
Faith that justice would prevail.
And despite the monumental adversities he faced.
He had perspective.
He was able to see this terrible injustice which robbed him of 30 years of his life as a sign from God.
To show him the flaws in the American legal system.
To be a crusader in the cause to fight the injustice.
To tell his story and inspire the nation and the world.
Sit with this for a moment.
How many of us would honestly be able to say we could take this perspective in such unimaginable circumstances?
And we so quickly play victim in our own lives.
In situations which are less than trivial in the grand scheme.
Whether you're religious or not, this is not the point.
It is simply about having faith, and using it to carry you through any situation and circumstance.
We can learn a lot from Mr. Hinton's example and his display of perspective and resilience.
If you'd like to read more about Anthony Ray Hinton, and two other inspirational human beings, I write about their stories in my latest blog post, "What's your excuse?" Have a read if you're wanting some extra inspiration in your life.
Strive to live, live to strive.
Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash