They are words from “As a Man Thinketh,” by James Allen, suggesting that when we seek perspective about life, we should follow the path that the mind harvests and the heart manifests.

Brian Banks read them often in prison, intent on understanding the injustice that destroyed his innocence and yet not allowing it to define his complete being. Allen wrote that if we remain true to our most cherished visions and ideals, our world at last will be built as we desire.

When the doors slammed shut and the lights went out each night and his mind wandered and it was impossible to sleep, when he had no clue which day of the week had passed and from which month, Banks fought himself to remain strong, to remain true to those visions and ideals. 

“They were long nights,” he said. “You’re always in a reflective state – where you are, where you know you should be, where you know you shouldn’t be. A lot of meditation. A lot of prayer.

Honing in on accepting the path God has put before you, even if it’s something you don’t understand, even if it’s a place and situation you don’t want to deal with. You don’t look at calendars. You don’t know the day. You just allow yourself to lose all sense of time. You have to.