Prescient….apocalyptic…..and unpredictable! I am using an incomplete sentence to start this blog; you see…..the last few years have simply felt incomplete! The last three years have been PRESCIENT. We have had COVID come in and take over our lives! Gun violence and mass shootings have been rampant and on the rise! Social media platforms have unintentionally become the gateway for bullying and violence in our schools. People have turned against each other over Political views, religion, etc. We are truly in the THICK of it!
What does it mean to be in the THICK of it?
To be in the thick of something means to be intricately involved in the most intense part of something. It can also mean being stuck between something or in the middle. Presently, I really do feel like I am in the thick of it all. I know that many of you can relate! Do you ever feel like you are being consumed by what is going on in the world around you? Is there a sense of helplessness and the inevitable feeling that things are going to get worse instead of better? Yea, that is all of us being engrossed in the THICK.
I really hate watching the news; no, I mean it. I force myself to watch the news but I loathe watching what is going on in the world. On one channel there will be a story about someone who shot up an elementary school killing innocent children and their devoted teachers. The next station will have devoured the debacle of fighting that is going on in our public schools. If you flip to another channel there is MORE call to attention to mass shootings, violence, abuse, and sickness. Do me a favor at this moment….google the words “top news stories” and see what comes up in your area. What did you find? I can 100% guarantee that you did not find anything positive. This is the THICK that we have adapted to in our world. We are at a peak where change needs to occur. Do we want to make things worse or better? Of course, we all want for things to get better but how?
My Experience with the THICK
Being a teacher has provided me with a different outlook on the thick of it. This topic has been so hard for me to write about because it can go in so many different directions with various perspectives. I will just choose one perspective to contrast. When I began teaching in 2002, students were different. I remember teaching one of my favorite novels, Lord of the Flies. In this novel, a group of young private school college prep boys become stranded on a deserted island. They must form their own way of structure and organization in order to survive; eventually the boys transition from civilized young men to savages. There is a part in the book in which a large stone is dropped on one of the character’s named Piggy; he is killed instantly. From that climax the book turns for the worst. In 2002 when I taught this novel and showed the movie, students were stunned, solemn, and in disbelief at this scene. Students were compassionate and caring. Fastforward to 2021. Now we have the pandemic, we have the news with its glorification of violence……do you think I got the same response? In 2021 kids laughed at this scene and this part of the book. They told me, ” Show it again, show it again,” while laughing and trying to whip out their phones to find the scene where Piggy’s head is smashed in by a heavy rock. They are immune to the thick of violence and chaos. It has become normal to them.
This is just one example of the THICK. And the truth is we are all stuck in it! You may not relate to the example that I just provided but we are all in this deep immense dilemma in some shape or form. A turning point is necessary. How do we process this? How do we turnaround the worst and make it for the best? How do we get to the root of the mentioned problems and also those that were not mentioned and come out of the THICK?
How do we get out of the THICK?
We have to do better as humans point….blank….period. It is up to us to call upon this new generation and it is up to us to provide calmness in the face of the storm. Integrity must be taught; kindness must be shown over cruelty, and love must be saturated upon hate. Why can’t the news show positive stories? Shouldn’t our social media platforms also be focused on alacrity and zeal? When we realize that we are in the THICK of these issues together, we can make a difference. It’s OK to accept metamorphosis. It’s OK to celebrate GOOD. It’s OK to say, ” I am in need of help. I am consumed by what’s going on around me. I need for these things that are going on around me to STOP.” It is OK to reach out your hand to another and help that person out of the thick. We do not have to stay here.
*Choose Kindness Over Cruelty!
*Choose Good Over Bad
*Choose Love Over Hate
Make it a Cycle! Transition from the THICK of IT!
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments!
Meka
Alacrity4women 