[Music]
every day I get calls from school
principals wondering how they can stop
the teasing and the bullying happening
on their campuses so one day I get a
call from a principal it says help me
please I have one kid who’s being a
bully on my campus
she’s just terrorizing the playground
can you come out and help us and so say
sure we can come on out so we agree to
work with this goal we show up on campus
on that day and if you can imagine a
hundred little fourth and fifth graders
all sitting on the floor cross-legged
full of energy and excitement for this
assembly to begin so we start off by
talking about how every single one of us
has feelings and especially feelings
that we don’t know what to do with these
are feelings that feel difficult
challenging and hard to talk about and
so we teach them that we all have a
place within us that sits right here and
it’s cold our balloon and in our balloon
we put these feelings that we don’t know
what to do with for example if I wake up
in the morning and I’m kind of sleepy
and now someone’s yelling at me wake up
wake up and now I feel irritated I’m a
little grumpy and I’m mad so I put those
feelings inside of my balloon then I go
off to school and the teacher calls on
me but I’m still kind of sleepy and I’m
still kind of grumpy and I don’t even
know what the teacher is talking about
so the whole classroom laughs so now I
feel embarrassed humiliated but what do
I do I just put those feelings inside of
my balloon and then I hurry out to
recess because I cannot wait
and I realized that my friend started
the game without me so now I’m excluded
I’m left out and I feel sad and what do
I do those feelings go inside not
balloon so here we are in this assembly
talking to these kids about feelings and
I asked them if any of them have ever
experienced a full balloon and every
little hand goes up and then we asked if
anyone right now
might have a balloon so full that they
might be doing hurtful or harmful things
to other people and the whole room goes
quiet until so we invite this kid to
come to the front of the room and as
she’s making her way up from the
reaction of all the other kids we can
tell this is her this is that kid that
bully the principal was talking about so
she makes her way to the front of the
room she sits in the chair and we say do
you have a full balloon she nods her
head
we asked have you been out there on the
playground doing some things that maybe
you shouldn’t be doing she blogs our EDS
and we say tell us what’s inside of your
balloon and as the tears well up in her
eyes
the entire room is leaning in they have
no idea what’s really going on with this
little girl and she says I lost my best
friend and the whole room is absolutely
confused because they have no idea who
her best friend is and we say
tell us all about your friend and was
now big gigantic tears rolling down her
face she tells us that her grandmother
died she tells us about how much her
grandmother loved her and how much she
missed her hugs how many of you right
now can feel with and for that little
girl so something in that room changed
right in that moment because minutes
before she was a bully
a terror on the playground and now she
was a nine-year-old little girl with a
grief-stricken broken heart so we give
her an opportunity to tell us more about
her grandmother and she lights up at the
opportunity and then we ask if there is
anybody in the room who would be willing
to stand by her side to be her ally and
talk to her about her grandmother
especially when they saw her doing
hurtful or harmful things out on the
playground and you know what happened
every hand went up because now they saw
her pain now they saw her full balloon
and they wanted to help this is
generation empathy in action instead of
more punishment instead of more
discipline there was now listening
compassion and empathy now let’s imagine
that this moment did not happen for this
little girl
imagine her labeled a terror a bully in
elementary school
imagine her in middle school imagine her
in high school
how many more labels would be put on her
how many more names would she be called
and
how many more ways would she try to
empty that balloon in ways that hurt her
and other people and still no one would
know about that brokenhearted little
girl our lives and our world moves so
fast how often do we miss each other how
often do we not see each other’s pain
what’s there underneath beyond what we
can see on the outside how often are you
judged the people you love and how often
do you judge and make assumptions about
other people and like that little girl
we all have a story like that little
girl we all have feelings so take this
moment right now and just notice what
are you feeling maybe something happened
as you walk into this room today and
you’ve got some feelings that might be
sitting in your balloon maybe you’re
sitting there curious joyful bored just
notice what is in your balloon right now
what are you feeling we’ve all been
socially trained to not share what we’re
feeling on the inside but what would
happen if we took that risk and shared
ourselves with each other what would
happen what would our lives be like our
relationships our connections I know for
me growing up in my home we did not talk
about feelings in fact when I was
growing up I was often
awkward and a shy little kid and I’d go
to school and not sure how to make
friends and it really left me lonely and
sad and so I put those feelings inside
of my balloon and in my home there was
alcoholism and there was violence and I
was often afraid and really scared and
no one to talk to so I put those
feelings inside of my balloon and as a
child of immigrant parents I was raised
to be invisible and oftentimes I wanted
to speak out and use my voice and be
heard and when I didn’t I’d often feel
disappointed and frustrated with myself
I put those feelings inside of my
balloon and so as I stand here and I’m
looking out at each of you I wonder
what’s inside of your balloon what are
the things that you carry with you every
day that no one knows about and what are
ways that you deal with your balloon do
you do hurtful or harmful things to
yourself for other people to find some
relief from that pressure or do you do
things that are helpful and healthy so
you can bring some ease to that balloon
just notice what is it like to really be
you and does anybody know
every day at soul shop the organization
I work with we get the opportunity to go
into schools and support kids to empty
their balloons in helpful ways we have
the opportunity to give them the tools
that they need so that they can work out
their problems together so that
compassion forgiveness understanding and
empathy can rise up imagine our schools
with more empathy imagine in our
communities our homes our families with
more empathy imagine if our medical
world our technology our politics had
more empathy imagine if our leaders led
with empathy what would our world be
like what would your life be like no
matter what sits inside of our balloons
every single one of us has good inside
of us just like that little girl so I
want us all to take a moment right now
and just turn to the people that you are
sitting next to if I want you to see how
easy it is to see the good so go ahead
and turn to the people next to you right
now and just to take a look can you see
can you see the good the good that is
always there can you see the way they
want to be of service the way they want
their lives to have meaning the way they
want to make a
prince can you just see that good in
each other that good is always there
regardless of whatever might be
happening on the outside so what would
it take for us to be as brave has that
little girl to be as vulnerable as she
was in front of her entire class and
what would it take for us to be her
classmate to listen as open heartedly as
they did in spite of all the previous
behaviors and judgments if we want a
more compassionate and empathetic world
that’s who we have to be together we can
raise generation empathy the next
generation of socially and emotionally
empowered leaders and it starts with us
[Applause]
every day I get calls from school
principals wondering how they can stop
the teasing and the bullying happening
on their campuses so one day I get a
call from a principal it says help me
please I have one kid who’s being a
bully on my campus
she’s just terrorizing the playground
can you come out and help us and so say
sure we can come on out so we agree to
work with this goal we show up on campus
on that day and if you can imagine a
hundred little fourth and fifth graders
all sitting on the floor cross-legged
full of energy and excitement for this
assembly to begin so we start off by
talking about how every single one of us
has feelings and especially feelings
that we don’t know what to do with these
are feelings that feel difficult
challenging and hard to talk about and
so we teach them that we all have a
place within us that sits right here and
it’s cold our balloon and in our balloon
we put these feelings that we don’t know
what to do with for example if I wake up
in the morning and I’m kind of sleepy
and now someone’s yelling at me wake up
wake up and now I feel irritated I’m a
little grumpy and I’m mad so I put those
feelings inside of my balloon then I go
off to school and the teacher calls on
me but I’m still kind of sleepy and I’m
still kind of grumpy and I don’t even
know what the teacher is talking about
so the whole classroom laughs so now I
feel embarrassed humiliated but what do
I do I just put those feelings inside of
my balloon and then I hurry out to
recess because I cannot wait
and I realized that my friend started
the game without me so now I’m excluded
I’m left out and I feel sad and what do
I do those feelings go inside not
balloon so here we are in this assembly
talking to these kids about feelings and
I asked them if any of them have ever
experienced a full balloon and every
little hand goes up and then we asked if
anyone right now
might have a balloon so full that they
might be doing hurtful or harmful things
to other people and the whole room goes
quiet until so we invite this kid to
come to the front of the room and as
she’s making her way up from the
reaction of all the other kids we can
tell this is her this is that kid that
bully the principal was talking about so
she makes her way to the front of the
room she sits in the chair and we say do
you have a full balloon she nods her
head
we asked have you been out there on the
playground doing some things that maybe
you shouldn’t be doing she blogs our EDS
and we say tell us what’s inside of your
balloon and as the tears well up in her
eyes
the entire room is leaning in they have
no idea what’s really going on with this
little girl and she says I lost my best
friend and the whole room is absolutely
confused because they have no idea who
her best friend is and we say
tell us all about your friend and was
now big gigantic tears rolling down her
face she tells us that her grandmother
died she tells us about how much her
grandmother loved her and how much she
missed her hugs how many of you right
now can feel with and for that little
girl so something in that room changed
right in that moment because minutes
before she was a bully
a terror on the playground and now she
was a nine-year-old little girl with a
grief-stricken broken heart so we give
her an opportunity to tell us more about
her grandmother and she lights up at the
opportunity and then we ask if there is
anybody in the room who would be willing
to stand by her side to be her ally and
talk to her about her grandmother
especially when they saw her doing
hurtful or harmful things out on the
playground and you know what happened
every hand went up because now they saw
her pain now they saw her full balloon
and they wanted to help this is
generation empathy in action instead of
more punishment instead of more
discipline there was now listening
compassion and empathy now let’s imagine
that this moment did not happen for this
little girl
imagine her labeled a terror a bully in
elementary school
imagine her in middle school imagine her
in high school
how many more labels would be put on her
how many more names would she be called
and
how many more ways would she try to
empty that balloon in ways that hurt her
and other people and still no one would
know about that brokenhearted little
girl our lives and our world moves so
fast how often do we miss each other how
often do we not see each other’s pain
what’s there underneath beyond what we
can see on the outside how often are you
judged the people you love and how often
do you judge and make assumptions about
other people and like that little girl
we all have a story like that little
girl we all have feelings so take this
moment right now and just notice what
are you feeling maybe something happened
as you walk into this room today and
you’ve got some feelings that might be
sitting in your balloon maybe you’re
sitting there curious joyful bored just
notice what is in your balloon right now
what are you feeling we’ve all been
socially trained to not share what we’re
feeling on the inside but what would
happen if we took that risk and shared
ourselves with each other what would
happen what would our lives be like our
relationships our connections I know for
me growing up in my home we did not talk
about feelings in fact when I was
growing up I was often
awkward and a shy little kid and I’d go
to school and not sure how to make
friends and it really left me lonely and
sad and so I put those feelings inside
of my balloon and in my home there was
alcoholism and there was violence and I
was often afraid and really scared and
no one to talk to so I put those
feelings inside of my balloon and as a
child of immigrant parents I was raised
to be invisible and oftentimes I wanted
to speak out and use my voice and be
heard and when I didn’t I’d often feel
disappointed and frustrated with myself
I put those feelings inside of my
balloon and so as I stand here and I’m
looking out at each of you I wonder
what’s inside of your balloon what are
the things that you carry with you every
day that no one knows about and what are
ways that you deal with your balloon do
you do hurtful or harmful things to
yourself for other people to find some
relief from that pressure or do you do
things that are helpful and healthy so
you can bring some ease to that balloon
just notice what is it like to really be
you and does anybody know
every day at soul shop the organization
I work with we get the opportunity to go
into schools and support kids to empty
their balloons in helpful ways we have
the opportunity to give them the tools
that they need so that they can work out
their problems together so that
compassion forgiveness understanding and
empathy can rise up imagine our schools
with more empathy imagine in our
communities our homes our families with
more empathy imagine if our medical
world our technology our politics had
more empathy imagine if our leaders led
with empathy what would our world be
like what would your life be like no
matter what sits inside of our balloons
every single one of us has good inside
of us just like that little girl so I
want us all to take a moment right now
and just turn to the people that you are
sitting next to if I want you to see how
easy it is to see the good so go ahead
and turn to the people next to you right
now and just to take a look can you see
can you see the good the good that is
always there can you see the way they
want to be of service the way they want
their lives to have meaning the way they
want to make a
prince can you just see that good in
each other that good is always there
regardless of whatever might be
happening on the outside so what would
it take for us to be as brave has that
little girl to be as vulnerable as she
was in front of her entire class and
what would it take for us to be her
classmate to listen as open heartedly as
they did in spite of all the previous
behaviors and judgments if we want a
more compassionate and empathetic world
that’s who we have to be together we can
raise generation empathy the next
generation of socially and emotionally
empowered leaders and it starts with us
[Applause]
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