When I think of Stephen King books, I think of bone chilling stories that make my teeth chatter. This is not one of those books. There was violence but it wasn’t graphic or horrific. King writes a short book about a man named Billy who is blocked from playing baseball, his beloved sport, leading him to act out violently.

The blocking of people from living out their desires is the story of humanity. This has always had negative consequences. When someone is blocked from living out their full potential it can harm the one blocked, the blocker, and sometimes other unrelated people — everyone is harmed in some way or another. In Richard Williams’ memoir (Venus and Serena Williams’ father), he showed how the South put such limitations on him as a result he harmed white people as a means of pay back. Society unremorsefully harmed Williams so he callously harmed individuals as revenge. He did not turn away from this way of living until he moved to CA and found more freedom to develop himself and eventually raise his family. Once the blocks fell down, he moved beyond harming other people.

The same is true in the story BLOCKADE BILLY. Billy shows that blocking others from reaching their fullest potential creates vast amounts of harm. Clear blockages because blockages can have disastrous effects. People grow best when they have space to do so.

As a teacher, we have opportunities to clear blocks on a daily basis. This can drain energy from your tank but the reward of seeing people floursh can be a bit of a recharge. Seek opportunities to free people to fulfill their potential and work to put an end to any ways we block others from thriving.

Peace,

Twitter: @growthucator