🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟

I had some powerful conversations with adolescents and young adults in the last week about being desensitized. In the past two weeks, kids have been exposed to graphic news about the violence in the Middle East and another tragic mass shooting in Maine. On a local level, there was a Southern California high school with a bomb threat and kids had to shelter in place--and as I write this LTWL, I have received a text alert that there is police activity due to a bomb threat one town over. IT IS OVERWHELMING.

The definition of Desensitization: to make (a sensitized or hypersensitive individual) insensitive or nonreactive to a sensitizing agent; to make emotionally insensitive or callous.

One high school senior said to me, “I hate how desensitized I am to all of this.” This resonates. On the one hand, to become callous to the horrors of the world protects us from that which makes us feel scared, helpless, and overwhelmed. On the other hand, to not be affected, sensitized, or upset IS a concerning response given the circumstances. I wonder what the implications are for mass desensitization.

Ask Yourself:

Am I desensitized to violence? Why?
Does it render me helpless to feel? Or take action in my small way to contribute to solutions at some level?
If I desensitize myself to the negative stuff, am I also desensitized to the good stuff?
Does numbing to atrocities make us feel good about ourselves? Or do we despise that part of ourselves that is passive, stuck, and avoidant?
Do I think individual rights are more important than collective safety?
What is the appropriate amount of information for my children? How can I protect them better? How can I help them cope if they are older and are informed?
If I had one wish for the world, what would it be?

**I’m scratching the surface on a huge philosophical consideration. Just consider it. Consider talking with your older kids about their ideas. It will be their generation grappling with many of these big issues ❤️.

Be Well