Two ideas were prominent.
1. I recall a Jerry McGuire moment that I had after a suicide completion at the school I was working at at the time. "We have to sell life!" - was my message. I know I was at the precipice of leaving the school as I was so drawn to teaching skills rather than doing, what felt like, multifarious (thesaurus...sounded better than multiple) suicide and risk assessments.
It seemed so dark and empty. It is dark and empty. However, that feeling needs to be validated. When a person is considering suicide, they really do want to get out. They want to escape the pain. It's a feeling that should be validated rather than overlooked.
For myself, a person who is predisposed to depression, I get ambushed by the other's sadness when I sit with them. Over the long haul it proved to be detrimental to my own well-being. What enhanced my well-being was teaching skills to children, the teachable skills of Kindness, Compassion, and Belonging; and using Mindfulness to tap into the inherent felt source of inspiration, creativity, and possibility that lives inside of them.
2. I am reminded of a saying that goes something like this: "To be well-adjusted to a sick society is not a sign of health." This is not to say that all of us should present with behavior that is considered to be maladjusted. It is to say that we can benefit our health as a society if we step back and look at it from time to time.
I haven't had a TV for over three years and when I come across the news in various settings (ie. oil lube waiting areas) it literally causes stomach upset and a desperate need to tune it out and leave the area if possible.
Another more recent moment of mind boggling awareness was at a staff meeting at a school. An hour meeting on school safety where the majority was spent on lock downs in the event of a dangerous person in the school that wants to do harm to CHILDREN!!!!!!!!! When you sit at these meetings and take yourself out of your role and look at the reality of what you are part of, it is sickening that this is what is 'normal'.
It's not that we shouldn't be concerned about safety precautions. What is concerning is the fucked up ways of being that have been integrated into our way of existing, subconsciously (would we really allow this consciously?) normalized and accepted; as opposed to thoughtfully examining these 'ways of being' and intentionally choosing to stand in opposition to accepting with a shrug of the shoulders saying 'it's just the way it is'. I choose to believe that we can return to a society that does not have live shooter drills in schools. I have to believe in this for my own sanity.
Let's read the saying one more time: "To be well-adjusted to a sick society is not a sign of health."
Watch this. It's Jim Carrey. It's short. It's inspiring.
