Writings From The Absent Mind of Angela

I feel it. A knife shoots into my heart, causing pain in my entire body. I am being teased and criticized again. I bite my lip, holding back my tears. I laugh along with the others who hear the man teasing me. It helps to mask the fact that it hurts. I’m standing in the line of fire in battle. Another remark slides from the man’s lips and the group laughs, releasing their arrows at me. I sigh and let loose a slightly hurtful retort. The teaser and his followers lift their heads and guffaw. I turn my back to them, showing that I “won.” I leave the room, not looking back. A swarm of tears fall from my eyes as I hide myself. I feel ashamed. I blow my nose and wash my face, relinquishing all tears and the fact that I had been crying. I re-enter the room, acting as if I wasn’t hurt, as if I am happy. I “laugh” and “smile” with others “cheerily.”

***

I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, while recalling the day’s events. Tears slide down my cheeks. I fall asleep, my face still damp from the fresh droplets of pain.

Why do we tease people and take pleasure in it?

Why do we laugh alongside others at a person who is being teased?

Why do we ignore the fact that people are hurting from being teased?

Do you understand what I am saying? All of these things are things that each and every one of us do. You tease people. You laugh after you tease them, because you thought your joke was funny. You laugh when someone else says a funny joke or insult targeted to a specific person. I’ve done this, and I’m not happy about it.

I wrote this to show you something. The person who is being teased gets hurt by it. Just because they’re laughing, doesn’t mean that they’re not hurting because of it. Some people don’t like to cry in public; some people don’t like to show all the troubles they’re really going through. So we do we egg on that trouble?

This is the second in a series I’m going to be doing. A series of life lessons from the point of view of the one hurting. Please, read them if you can and take all out of it that you can.

Refrain from teasing others. I know you can, no matter how hard it is.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

- Philippians 4:13

Over and Out.

Angela