More often than not bullying leads to hurt, anger and more bullying.
But, two recent instances of bullying, one that I read about on social media and the other on goodnewsnetwork.org, led to two separate acts of loving kindness that changed several people’s lives.
I was bullied as a child and teenager.
In fact, it’s 2019, and it still happens. It’s not often, but it still makes me think, “Really?!” One for the record books happened in my local coffee shop. When I ordered my cappuccino, the man behind me told me to “speak proper English” among other things. Can’t make this stuff up! I know that many bullies feel unsafe and unwanted. So, although it’s sometimes hard, send them tons of love, I say! And that’s why I love these two stories.
The first is what a father did when he found out his 8-year old son was being bullied by another young boy. Instead of getting angry, the father decided to find out what was at the root of the bully’s actions. He invited the boy to some one-on-one time together. The father discovered that the other boy was homeless (his family lived in a car) and other kids picked on him for wearing dirty, smelly clothes. Immediately, the father took the boy shopping and bought him new clean clothes. They spent the rest of the day driving around and singing along to songs on the radio.
Read the heartwarming story here: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/dad-confronts-bully-by-treating-him-like-a-son-now-the-homeless-boy-has-money-and-friendship/
The next story is about the actor and comedian Patton Oswalt. Apparently, Oswalt posted something on Twitter, and a man attacked Oswalt. Instead of tweeting back scathing remarks, Oswalt took the high road. He posted, “Aw, man. This dude just attacked me on Twitter and I joked back but then I looked at his timeline and he’s in a LOT of trouble health-wise. I’d be pissed off too. He’s been dealt some shitty cards — let’s deal him some good ones. Click and donate — just like I’m about to.”
Oswalt helped raise more than US$30,000 for the Alabama man, who had been in the hospital with Sepsis for two weeks and almost died.
Be uplifted here: https://abcnews.go.com/culture/story/patton-oswalt-helps-man-insulted-twitter-pay-medical-60619526
When someone meets bullying with love, instead of retaliating with anger, the bully can heal and choose another path, the bullied don’t succumb to survival emotions, and everybody wins!
