I don’t suffer bullies well. It hurts my very soul to see it, to hear a bully speak, to watch them hurt someone on purpose. I grew up with two bullies as parents. They were both insecure, narcissistic, immature cowards and to the day they died, without remorse. While I was in school, I often stood up for those being bullied. Sometimes it meant I took a punch or became the target of their ridicule. It was easier on my heart than watching someone else being attacked. I grew up in a christian cult that proclaimed they were the essence of love, but which, as an organization, bullied people in public in order to try to force them to conform. I witnessed extremely cruel things, some of it aimed at people in my own family. Ultimately, it tore us apart. These abuses are the core of my CPTSD, and in my current life, the reason that I preach love, self-love, acceptance, kindness and caring for others. Someone who bullies others hates themselves to the core. Their inner world is filled with hateful thoughts and hateful actions. Self-Love is the only cure I know. If we cultivate it in ourselves we will encourage it in others, which creates the possiblity to change a culture that tolerates it. If the culture changes, the bullies will feel less and less empowered to take their self-hate out on others. This is the hope of my heart. Love yourself as if it means a better world for everyone, because it literally does.
Love, Cheri
