Excerpts from a HEROs Story |
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Today was the day that we would reveal our newest development. It is unique, it is innovative, it is ambitious. We designed a gratitude workshop for children. We invited a group of children aged 7 to 9 to join us for our first Gratikids Funshop. The results were outstanding!... As the children arrived they were given a paper with "gratitude" written across it, which they had fun colouring and decorating. I felt energized as I watched them socialize and connect with each other. I then had each child chose two slips of paper, one red and the other black. The red ones said positive statements like " I think you are an amazing person" and the black ones said negative statements like "I don't want to be your friend" (this group was mature enough to realize that the negative statements were a part of the exercise and did not take them personally). We were sitting in a circle and I turned to the boy beside me and said, "I think you are the most incredible student I have ever met". It filled me up to say this to him. He blushed and turned to the girl beside him, picked up the red slip and read to her, "I like having you as my friend". Each child in the circle chose to read the red slips of positive messages to the person beside them. It was amazing by the end of the exercise the energy in the room was so charged with joy and excitement. You could just feel the excitement move you. All the students were smiling and laughing with each other. I asked them how they felt, "happy", "awesome", "excited", "included", "loving". We discussed how we had just sent a happy wave (ripple) around the circle. It was an incredible experience to be a part of this process. I felt a deep connection to everyone in that room. I told them we were going to try starting with a different wave. I turned to the boy beside me and said, "I don't like playing with you" his face dropped even though he knew I didn't mean it. I too felt terrible inside for saying this to him and I knew it wasn't true. He looked at his slips of paper, slowly picked up the black one and read to the girl beside him, "I think that you are mean". You could feel everyone's stomachs drop. Each student in turn chose the negative messages on the black slips of paper and read them to the person beside them. The energy in the room dropped instantly. The joyous group of students had turned into a quiet, solemn group with grim faces. There was such a heavy feeling in the room. It was as if someone had just zapped all of our energy. When I asked them how it felt to send a sad wave (ripple) they unenthusiastically answered, "unhappy", "upset", "lonely", "not nice". I asked them what wave they preferred to receive and they all yelled, "the happy one!" I asked which wave they felt better giving and again they all screamed, "the happy one!" Finally, I asked if you receive a sad wave what choices do you have? One boy blurted out, "You can stop it and send a happy wave." I asked him why he would do this and he said to make himself feel better. Wow a 10-minute activity and these kids completely understood the concept of giving and receiving ripples! After reading them a story about how a boy felt when people treated him with and without gratitude. We discussed the concept of gratitude. I asked them if there was someone in their life whom they may not always remember to show their appreciation to. It touched my heart when they all agreed that their parents do so much for them and that they do not always remember to thank them... I was so touched that after only one workshop on gratitude, a little boy had not only understood the concept of sending out positive energy but he was able to internalize it, apply it to his own life and expand it to other situations. If this is the effect gratitude can have on one boy in one class, what would happen if we were able to send this concept around the world? Be moved by the this HERO's message in |
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