Happy Shoesday

Happy Shoesday; who's ready to talk empathy with me?

Yesterday was Exhibition Day for Mrs. Monty's class, 

my fifth-grade friends in Florida; they chose to research

and present on the glorious virtue of empathy,

putting yourself in someone else's shoes.

Click the image for the Kristen Nan idea that sparked this.

Just look at them teaching the Empathy Switch!

For months, they visited with experts in the field

who are doing the work around elevating empathy, 

then they expertly presented this incredible showcase.

Words cannot adequately express how in awe of them I am.

It's about 15 minutes long and I know you're in a hurry,

but it'll be beyond worth your time and attention.

Wait, you've only got three minutes to spare?

Here's the clip you really won't want to miss!

Our future is so bright with these empathy heroes

thinking with their hearts and leading the way.

Then, just this morning, this powerful TED Talk on empathy 

by elementary school Art teacher Jonathan Juravich found me.

It reminded me of when our daughter was in preK

and would watch Disney movies over and over again.

One of her favorites was The Fox and the Hound.

When it would come to the goodbye scene in which 

Fox has to be taken to the woods and dropped off,

Kaitlyn would run and hide behind the couch.

Empathy in motion.

Not only did she not want to see and feel it,

because she found it heartbreakingly sad,

but she was mirroring that Tod should hide, too.

She was putting herself in his shoes,

evidence to punctuate what Michele Borba tells us:

We are hardwired for empathy.

But I've heard Borba add that dormant empathy does no good.

Because empathy in action doesn't happen by chance.

We must nurture, stretch, and grow it.

In ourselves and in others.

With intention. On purpose.

Simon Sinek says it's not possible to stand in another's shoes,

but that we can certainly give it a righteous try,

so that we don't make assumptions that can lead

to disconnection or misunderstanding.

Tune in to his riveting TED Talk {here}.

I love his idea of each of us having our own

empathy language.

Sinek suggests that we can easily mine empathy by asking,

Is everything okay?

Brene Brown says this about empathy:

Three powerful words: You're not alone.

That's why empathy matters so much.

Because YOU matter so much.

Here's to going eye to eye, ear to ear,

and, most importantly, heart to heart,

to make every day a {step into in your} Shoesday.

One last note: For those of you who might want to join us this afternoon/evening 

for a free Character Strong webinar on combatting fatigue,

register {here} and tune in at 5 pm CDT. See you there.