Passion for compassion
-
0:01 - 0:05As a result of my studies,
I found a thread, -
0:05 - 0:08that the essence of religion
was compassion. -
0:08 - 0:12That every single one
of the major world religions -- -
0:12 - 0:17Judaism, Islam, Christianity,
Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism ... -
0:18 - 0:22they all insisted on what's often known
as the Golden Rule: -
0:22 - 0:26never treat others as you
would not like to be treated yourself. -
0:28 - 0:33My wish was that you would get
a panel of activists -
0:33 - 0:38and together, we would craft
a charter, a brief statement -
0:38 - 0:42reminding the world that this
is what religion is about. -
0:44 - 0:46[Great big story
in partnership with TED] -
0:47 - 0:50Narrator: They had a big idea
to change the world. -
0:51 - 0:53But they couldn't do it alone.
-
0:53 - 0:56(Voices overlapping)
So, my wish ... My wish ... I wish ... -
0:56 - 0:59And now, here's my wish.
-
0:59 - 1:01[Torchbearers]
-
1:01 - 1:03[Ideas in action]
-
1:05 - 1:06(Shouting, fire crackling)
-
1:06 - 1:10KA: Our nations seem
to be crumbling by the day. -
1:10 - 1:13And this should make us uncomfortable.
-
1:14 - 1:16We've all got huge problems in our cities.
-
1:16 - 1:19Problems of inequity
and cruelty and violence. -
1:21 - 1:23So, what can we do?
-
1:23 - 1:26What can we do to change things?
-
1:26 - 1:28Every city has to be compassionate.
-
1:28 - 1:32And people often ask me,
what should a compassionate city be like? -
1:32 - 1:34And I said,
-
1:34 - 1:38"Well, a compassionate city
should be an uncomfortable city." -
1:40 - 1:43One is Louisville, Kentucky,
where the mayor, Greg Fischer, -
1:43 - 1:46actually campaigned
on the idea of compassion. -
1:46 - 1:49[Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville, KY]
-
1:49 - 1:52Greg Fischer: When I announced
compassion as a city value, -
1:52 - 1:54it got a lot of attention.
-
1:54 - 1:58A city is a platform
for human potential to come alive. -
2:01 - 2:06Compassion makes individuals stronger
and makes our city stronger. -
2:08 - 2:12KA: People just can't call themselves
a compassionate city, -
2:12 - 2:15unless they've got a practical
course of action. -
2:18 - 2:21GF: So the questions then is,
how do you bring compassion to life? -
2:21 - 2:23How do you change
the culture of your city? -
2:25 - 2:28What if you could start at the beginning
of a young child's life? -
2:29 - 2:33(Clock ticking)
-
2:49 - 2:51My name is Meghann Clem Mattingly.
-
2:51 - 2:54I am the Compassionate
Schools Project teacher. -
2:54 - 2:58Compassion is a very teachable thing.
-
2:58 - 3:01OK, I see a lot of friends
who are looking ready. -
3:01 - 3:04Every CSP class begins
with calming and focusing. -
3:04 - 3:09And then we have some sort
of core practice that we're doing -
3:09 - 3:13whether we're talking about
self-awareness or empathy-building skills. -
3:16 - 3:18We are starting at the ground level,
-
3:18 - 3:22we're building that foundation
for our students at age five and up, -
3:22 - 3:24to be more compassionate citizens.
-
3:26 - 3:28Kid: Leave me alone!
MCM: Jeremy. -
3:29 - 3:30Look at Ms Mattingly, Jeremy.
-
3:30 - 3:32Jeremiah: Just go, count me out.
-
3:32 - 3:37MCM: Jeremiah, we're going to try harder
to get our self-regulation back, sir. -
3:37 - 3:39Jeremiah: This is the second
reason I hate my life. -
3:39 - 3:43MCM: Jeremiah, come here,
I need you to tell me more about that. -
3:43 - 3:45MCM: Anger or frustration,
which feeling was bringing -- -
3:46 - 3:48Anger, I can tell. Look at your hands.
-
3:48 - 3:51So, before we talk about it,
can you calm yourself down? -
3:53 - 3:54No? it's hard to, isn't it?
-
3:54 - 3:56Can you try to make your hands
look like mine? -
3:57 - 3:58Look.
-
3:58 - 4:00Can you try to let go of that?
-
4:00 - 4:03Look at your face, I see a smile there.
-
4:03 - 4:05You're trying real hard
to hang on to that anger. -
4:05 - 4:08I see every day these changes
happening in these students. -
4:08 - 4:11And I have all the hope in the world
-
4:11 - 4:14that this project
will change our education. -
4:15 - 4:19GF: We define compassion as respect
for each and every one of our citizens -
4:19 - 4:22so that their human potential
is flourishing, thriving. -
4:29 - 4:34(Many voices) Grant me the serenity
to accept the things that I cannot change, -
4:34 - 4:36the courage to change
the things that I can -
4:36 - 4:40and the wisdom to know
the difference, just for today. -
4:40 - 4:42Keep coming back, it works.
-
4:42 - 4:46GF: Hotel Louisville is a great example
of how to think about a whole system -
4:46 - 4:49of getting a person back on track.
-
4:51 - 4:53So it's a shelter
for women and their families, -
4:53 - 4:55but it's also an operating hotel.
-
4:55 - 4:59Cynthia Brown: Hotel Louisville
was not just a women's rehab facility, -
4:59 - 5:01it is a workforce program.
-
5:01 - 5:05We run the hotel, we do all the jobs here.
-
5:06 - 5:11Every job that one of us has
has their own individual skills. -
5:12 - 5:14It gets us a sense of responsibility,
-
5:14 - 5:17because we can put this
on our resumes when we leave. -
5:20 - 5:26I think the compassion really comes
from the girls that are in the rehab -
5:26 - 5:29because we depend on each other a lot.
-
5:30 - 5:31We need each other.
-
5:32 - 5:35(Overlapping voices)
-
5:42 - 5:46If I was not here at Hotel Louisville,
I would be sitting in jail, doing my time. -
5:47 - 5:49I was given that chance.
-
5:49 - 5:51And I just -- I want to live,
I want to live life. -
5:51 - 5:54[Remind yourself: You can do this
You are a good person] -
5:55 - 5:58GF: It lifts us all up to say,
this is the kind of city we are, -
5:58 - 6:00and this is the kind of city
we aspire to be. -
6:00 - 6:02And that any way we can help other cities
-
6:02 - 6:06and take us to even greater heights
is what we want to do. -
6:07 - 6:10It's this ripple effect;
we're not perfect as a city, -
6:10 - 6:13but boy, we're working
to be better every day. -
6:13 - 6:17KA: Here you have a city which
is doing great things with compassion. -
6:21 - 6:24Cities and mayors are going to play
an important role -
6:24 - 6:25as leaders of the future.
-
6:30 - 6:37I'd like to see a thousand
compassionate cities in the next decade -
6:37 - 6:41that remind the rest of the world
what our duty is. -
6:43 - 6:47Always treat all others
as you'd like to be treated yourself. -
6:55 - 6:56[Share and sign
the Charter for Compassion] -
6:56 - 6:58[CharterForCompassion.org]
- Title:
- Passion for compassion
- Speaker:
- Karen Armstrong
- Description:
-
With the Charter for Compassion, Karen Armstrong challenged the world to bring the Golden Rule to the center of life. Learn about how her vision inspired Greg Fischer -- the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky -- to lead the city in fascinating new directions.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED Series
- Duration:
- 06:57
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Passion for compassion | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Passion for compassion | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Passion for compassion | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Passion for compassion | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Passion for compassion | ||
Krystian Aparta accepted English subtitles for Passion for compassion | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Passion for compassion | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Passion for compassion |