Standing Up
Recently, I made a difficult decision, to stand up to bullying. I was working with children in the presence of what turned out to be a bullying teacher. Her behavior was abusive toward the most vulnerable of children. This set up an atmosphere for her aides to follow suit. By the end of the day, I was very shaken by the experience in the classroom. The teacher was aware of how this had affected me.
What to do? I could forget the situation because I didn’t need to return to it. But I would still know. Or, I could take the chance of retribution by reporting it, as I was, in fact, required to do.
What were my concerns? Firstly, that I would not be listened to. Followed by, I would not be believed. And finally, that I would be considered a ‘trouble maker’ and be punished, and the situation would not change.
After a weekend of soul searching, I did report what I had witnessed. I had to let go of a lot of old fears to get to that point. I asked for spiritual help to contact an appropriate person, within the system, someone who was also approachable.
I did find that person. He listened, was concerned and supportive, promised to investigate, and he had the authority to make change.
As hard as it was to take this chance and do the right thing, the most challenging part was facing myself. Sometimes the most difficult thing is to love and trust myself, to believe in my own worth. This is where using the spiritual techniques comes in, to help clear the pathway.
