When you were growing up, did you meet the biggest bully in the world?

Many of us did, in one form or another.

Was it a bully in the shape of another child, a group of children, a teacher, an adult or a person in a position of power?

Or maybe you were one of the bullies… one of the tough kids who the other kids were totally scared of and avoided at all costs. (If this was you, you must have felt invincible, at least some of the time anyway.)  And maybe there is a part of you that wishes that you had made different choices back then……

Or maybe…. you witnessed someone else being bullied and were an “innocent bystander.” (And you are now left feeling traumatised by the nagging feeling that you didn’t do anything.  Back then, or now.)

Or were you one of those kids who stood up for the kids who were bullied? (Hats off to you if that was you.)

In any case, many of us experienced the trauma of bullying in some shape or form.

And the fruits of this crop are now coming to bear.

It seems that bullying, in all of its forms, is being brought to the light to be seen, to be heard and to be healed.

Everywhere I go, people seek me out to tell me their story of being bullied.  (I talk to people wherever I go about bullying and how to rise beyond it!)  I listen with an open heart.  I offer all the compassion, love and understanding that I can muster.

There are so many stories of abuse coming to light that has occurred in the religious sector, in schools and in the lives of children from all walks of life.   In the lives of adults all over the world.  Take a look…. at the political arena.  A shocking display, at least in Australia, of the people in power treating each other with disrespect, distrust and a complete lack of compassion and understanding. A complete lack of unity, working together and co-creation.

In working with parents, children, teachers, mental health care professionals and organisations, I have come to realise that the biggest bully in the world lies within each of us.  I am not suggesting that we all bully other people in our lives, yet I do believe that we have been brought up to be hardest on, the most critical of, and terribly tough on the person we should share the most compassion and understanding with.

Ourselves.

Within each of us lies the potential of either coming from the ego or the place of creativity, compassion and co-creation.

From a place of love, rather than fear…..

Keep an eye out for next week’s blog post to find out if the biggest bully in the world lies within you……….