Metaphorical darkness can take many forms. My own darkness consists of (a lot of) negative self-talk, educational inequity and injustice, mean people, and generally poor behavior by others. I kick at the darkness, but I’m not quite sure how to tell if there is any daylight or not. I know that my self-talk is an ongoing (perhaps futile) battle. What I teach and where I teach are my methods for kicking at the educational darkness, but I sincerely question if I am having an impact or not. Some days feel great, and I think that I see dawn breaking over the horizon. Other days I feel like the darkness is going to swallow me up. I don’t like those days very much.
Mean people suck, but there isn’t a whole lot I can do about that except not be mean. When I see people behaving poorly, I try to not participate or buy into those behaviors. I’m left wondering, how do I know when the darkness is bleeding daylight? How do I know it’s not just more darkness, or a different darkness? I’ll guess I’ll just have to keep kicking and hope someday I’ll see the daylight.