Shortening the Road

Because October is National Anti-Bullying Month, I am reposting this Raven story. In this tale, Raven not only faces down several bullies, but he learns about courage for the first time, which is what everyone needs to be able to deal with bullies.

There is a great focus in the media on bullying in the schoolyard and how it affects children. While this is very real and very true, bullying doesn't end when school is out for summer. We face bullies in our families, in our friends, at work, at play, and even within ourselves. Recently, a news piece arose where a local TV anchor had to deal with a stranger who attempted to bully her using her weight as a weapon. Here's how she dealt with that.

There are many, many Raven tales where he defends the people against one threat or another, but I like this particular story because Raven has moment where bullying fills his heart with fear for the first time. Dealing with that fear is how we must face our own bullies so that they do not control who we are or what we can accomplish.

Note: the drumming this piece is by The Dragon Ritual Drummers and is used with permission.