“We must learn the consequences of negligence – it’s not just what we do, it’s what we DON’T do that’s important as well. We are guilty by omission.”

~ Matthew McConaughey

You can tell someone a thousand times what’s happening

You can change the way it’s told

You can tell everyone willing to lend an ear

There comes a day where it just stops

Not matter what you say

Or how you say it

Or who you tell

It falls on deaf ears

You’re not being heard

What’s the point if no one is listening?

Then the inevitable happens

Tragedy strikes

Only for the people who ignored you to come running back and ask why you didn’t say anything

But you did

Multiple times

In multiple ways

Ignorance is bliss

But it becomes negligent when there were warning signs

And the warning signs were ignored

History has a tendency to repeat itself

Study the pattern

How are individuals asking for help?

What happens when the pleas are ignored?

One person can only take so much

Change starts with one person

It’s a lot easier to clean egg off your face than it is to pick up the pieces of a shattered life

It probably started with words

But they were ignored

So the change started

With a change of behavior

The change of diet

A loss of interest

Uncharacteristic displays

Warning signs

Made through changes in personality

Red flags that be easily ignored

Or even explained away

Band aid solutions are thrown out and slapped on, hoping it’ll ‘fix’ the problem

But are you listening?

Words can only go so far

And can be misconstrued

When the behavior starts to change

And the withdrawal begins

And the communication stops

Maybe it’s time for you to stop and listen

Listen to what the behavior is telling you

For it’s the behavior that will back up what they’re TRYING to tell you

Maybe it’s time for you take a step back

Maybe it’s time to change your view of the situation

Maybe it’s time to not just HEAR what’s being said

Maybe it’s time to listen to the behavior

Read between the lines

Maybe it’s time to see that you’re experience isn’t theirs

Maybe it’s time to expand your view

Because you’re experience is yours

And it’s more than likely interfering with much needed help

Just because you can’t let go of the view that’s not necessarily wrong

But one doesn’t fit every narrative

But is made to think it is

A ‘one sizes fits all’ solution

So when the words are falling flat

Going in one ear and out the other

No matter how the story is told

Maybe it’s time to start listening to the behavior, too

For the behavior will back up the words

They can only do so much

They don’t always convey the true meaning of what’s actually happening

The times they get misconstrued

The resulting misinterpretations

When others are too busy talking AT you, not TO you

Words

They carry so much meaning

But perceptions and misconceptions intefer

So the talking stops

Because what’s the point of trying to tell everyone what’s when it keeps missing the mark

It keeps going in one ear and right out the other

When you want to be heard but no one is listening

The world keeps moving

The divide keeps growing

Because what’s perceived isn’t reality

You can throw around all the words you want

Say what you think

But unless you’re willing to put yourself in someone else’s shoes

Words mean nothing

They get lost in translation

Do you want to talk about it?

Or do you want to ignoring it?

There are issues that keep getting brought up

But they keep getting denied as even an issue

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

So, therefore, it doesn’t exist

Even if it does

And it’ll keep getting brought up

No matter how many times you try to sweep it under the carpet

No matter how many times you try to pin it on something else

The truth exists

It’s buried under a pile of lies you keep telling yourself

Yes, it’s uncomfortable

For all parties involved

But the elephant in the room needs to be addressed

Perceptions and misconceptions need to be addressed

It’s resulting in innocent people getting mistreated

Learn to read the room

Learn to read the situation

Read between the lines

When your child believes you can change the world

When their innocence sees the possibilities

But when the world looks at you, they base their view on perceptions that aren’t accurate

And keep hammering away on what can be done based in their experiences

But your reality is hampering what you can do and achieve

Because someone dug your hole for you and every way out has been blocked

And no matter how loud you try to express your viewpoint

No matter how loud you try to get your point across

No matter how many times you try the ‘solution’ others give you

It gets you nowhere

When I can see what the problem is

When I can see how we got here

When the way out isn’t black and white

But the world is telling you it is

When you need a hand up

But you’re seen as trouble instead, looking for the easy way out

When the great divide is there

But the fear is that something bad is going to need to happen before somebody actually believes me

Through devious means

My voice got stolen

Through devious means

You made sure to hide where you hid my voice

Through devious means

You made sure you came out on top

Through devious means

You made sure that you held the upper hand

Through devious means

You shined

Because you knew the ins and outs of how to make yourself look good

Through devious means

You got your way

But you will not silence me

Through devious means

You stole my voice

But you’re not keeping it

I will keep speaking up

I will reclaim my voice

I know what you did

When there are things you are grateful for

But yet know they can be taken away in an instant

When you’re being told be thankful for what you have

But when what you have is on the verge of disappearing

When there’s a fine line between knowing you need to be grateful for what you have

But knowing that what you have can disappear tomorrow because of the actions of someone else

When the lines blur

When your walking the fence

When you see both sides

When you’re being told to be grateful

When ‘others have it worse’

But you know it’s not a competition

And you know it shouldn’t be a comparison

For when you’re grateful for what you have

But can yet yearn for it to be better

Because while there’s a lot to be grateful for

It doesn’t ease or take away the fear that still exists because of the hand you’ve been dealt and the consequences that comes with it

Because while ‘others may have it worse’

And it doesn’t take away from the trauma of your specific situation

Because while there’s still a lot to be grateful for

You always have the right to ask for it to be better

Because no one knows the hell you’ve been dragged through just to get to the other side

When you’re in the trenches trying to get out

When you see the climb ahead up the mountainside

When you need a hand up

When you’ve been dragged through hell…

When you’ve attempted every single avenue to seek help…

When access to resources has been reduced…

When roadblocks keep getting plopped in front of you…

When it’s one step forward, but two steps back…

All while trying to raise a child

Without a support system

With the expectation that I need to move forward

Without a way to access much needed services to heal

That a ‘bounceback’ is just a matter of ‘pulling up the boot straps’

All while trying to navigate an unbeaten path

When mental health is an issue

When you still need to move forward despite having no more fumes to run on

When auto pilot shut off awhile ago

When the psychological abuse was real but it’s being implied that it didn’t happen or it ‘wasn’t that bad’

When you’re stuck treading under water and trying not to drown but the safety floatation device gets thrown in the opposite direction

When your reality clashes with incorrect perceptions and misconceptions

When you slowly start to disappear

When you see the bridges that are getting burned

When the signs of trouble are there

Because behavior should be seen as a symptom

Of a deeper problem

And it NEEDS to be addressed

But it gets misconstrued instead…

…because they’d rather believe the images and misconceptions

Not all evil is visible

Ask the ones who speak of it and live with the invisible scars