Being Beyond Bullying: Part 3
Part Three: The road well-traveled
In the past two weeks, we have focused heavily on the psychological process of bullying, and on how changing our thoughts, has, in due course, changed our mentality on bullying. We have concentrated in near entirety on our personal self, and how to overcome our personal experiences. Yet, as facts and statistics incessantly inform us, we are not alone in our path, or in our journey. As stated in an article from The San Jose Mercury News, dated October 24th, 2012, over 13 million teens across the nation face bullying every day. Bullying may stem from personal problems, but it hardly ends there. As bullying continues to affect more individuals every day, we still see our own experiences with bullying as disconnected and separated from the world. Why, as individuals, do we feel as though bullying is only a personal struggle?
As bullying attempts to prevent us from expressing our personal self, it has also prevented us from expressing our collective self. For in society, so far, we have adopted the “Minority of One” view, which has left teens isolated in their understanding of their situation and in their quest for solutions. The belief in the personal struggle, without any guidance or support, has led countless teens across the nation to believe that they are alone without any help or hope along the way. Feeling alienated in their personal condition, teens and even adults often become so engrossed by this mindset that they forget how often bullying really does occur. As those 13 million teens have a unique story, they all share a common experience. With that common experience, teens also share a common knowledge of facing those experiences.
So why can’t we just share what we know? Why can’t we share what we have experienced individually, so that the understanding may be raised collectively? For in this case, Sharing IS Caring. The path of overcoming bullying is not one that is being trail blazed by each of us, but is rather a walk down the road well-traveled by everyone who has ever encountered bullying. What we have learned through our experience, through our trials and tribulations, can be explained and understood by those who still struggle with bullying today. With collective sharing of what we have learned individually, we have an opportunity to raise the entire consciousness of the group collectively.
By sending out your message, whether it be of forgiveness, expression, or acceptance, we give others the chance to absorb a new pattern of thought and emotion towards bullying itself. Just merely letting others have this level of exposure to alternative methods of overcoming bullying is a foot in the right direction. Too many times we believe that we face an ultimatum, of flight or flee, that hearing the other approaches serves as a reminder to what we essentially know to be true of life as possibility. With the simple knowledge of ‘there is another way’, teens will pursue these alternatives that will ultimately lead to higher thought levels of decision and action. Even though the situation may be slightly different, the same messages will still apply. Collective collaboration, and ultimately, conversation, is truly at the core of being beyond bullying.
(Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com.)
