26 www . AspireMAG . net | October / November 2023
Moving Beyond Victimhood : The Great Unconscious Metapattern of Our Time
BY JUDY WILKINS-SMITH
“ Sticks and stones may break my bones , but names shall never hurt me ,” was an old adage way back in the early 1800s . For over 200 years it soothed and encouaged many a bullied student and adult . But no longer .
Today , it seems we are the walking wounded , insulted by everything . Names hurt us . Not being honored with the right pronoun hurts us . Not getting enough “ Likes ” on a social media post hurts us . Someone offering information we don ’ t agree with hurts us . Seeing historical statues of former slave owners hurts us . Our skins are thin . Suffering has become a badge of honor . And the more we publicly acclaim our suffering , the more there seems to be of it . ( In other words , what we focus on materializes right in front of us .)
26 www . AspireMAG . net | October / November 2023