Laura:
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Hello, faithful explorers.
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I'm Laura, your guide on
today's grand audio adventure.
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Grab your imaginary explorer
hats, pop them on your head,
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and give them a nice little tap.
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There.
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Now we are officially ready to explore.
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Let me ask you a big question.
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Have you ever felt really angry?
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Like super-duper stomp your
feet, huff and puff mad.
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Maybe a brother or sister grabbed
a toy right out of your hands
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without asking, or maybe a friend
at school called you a mean name.
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If you've ever been that mad, wave
your arms in the air right now.
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Yep, I can see all those arms waving.
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It happens to everyone.
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When someone hurts our feelings or ruins
our hard work, our hearts can feel heavy
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and stormy, like we are carrying a dark,
dripping rain cloud everywhere we go.
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But guess what?
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Today, we are going to unlock
a secret superpower that lives
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right inside your own chest.
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It is a power that can blow
that dark rain cloud right away
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and bring the sunshine back.
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Faithfully Explore! Intro:
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faithfully Explore!
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is the name.
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Learning together is our aim.
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Beliefs around the globe we'll track,
filling up our Belief Backpack.
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Laura: Imagine you are building
a giant tower out of blocks.
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You worked on it all morning.
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It is tall, beautiful, and perfect.
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But suddenly, your friend
runs by, trips, and crash!
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Your tower is completely ruined.
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Right inside your chest, you might
feel a hot, angry, stomping feeling.
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It feels like a storm cloud is raining
inside your heart, or like you are
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carrying around a giant, heavy rock.
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You might want to yell, cry, or
knock down their blocks to get even.
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It is totally okay to
feel that way at first.
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But carrying that heavy rock of
anger around all day makes you
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feel tired, sad, and grumpy.
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That is where our secret
human superpower comes in.
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It is called forgiveness.
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What do you think
forgiveness actually means?
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Tell me right now.
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Speak your answer on the count of three.
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One, two, three.
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I heard some amazing answers.
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Some of you said it means making up.
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Some said it means being nice.
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You are all totally right.
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Forgiveness is when you make
a brave choice to throw away
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that heavy rock of anger.
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Forgiveness means you look at the
person who hurt your feelings, you
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take a deep breath, and you decide
to give them a second chance.
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Forgiv-- Now listen closely, because
this part trips up a lot of kids.
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Forgiveness does not mean that
what they did was totally okay.
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It is still sad that your
block tower got knocked down.
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And forgiveness doesn't mean you
have to forget what happened.
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What it does mean is that you are choosing
to let the anger go so you can feel
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happy again and fix your friendship.
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It's like opening a window after
a dark storm and letting the warm
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sunshine back inside your heart.
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To see how this works in real life, let's
look at two friends named Leo and Lily.
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Leo and Lily were sitting at the kitchen
table, working on their art projects.
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Lily spent a long, long time
drawing a beautiful picture
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of a flying purple dragon.
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Leo was sitting right across
from her, coloring a forest.
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He was reaching across the table to
grab a crayon, but as he reached, his
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sleeve caught on Lily's full juice cup.
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Whoosh!
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Sticky apple juice spilled all over
Lily's dragon drawing, wrinkling the paper
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and turning it into a big, soggy blob.
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The dragon was completely ruined.
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Lily's heart sank.
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In a split second, her sadness turned
into a giant, hot flame of anger.
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She felt that heavy
rock right in her chest.
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Tears welled up in her eyes, and she
wanted to grab Leo's paper and rip it up.
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Leo looked terrified.
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He grabbed a paper towel,
started wiping the table, and
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said, "I'm so, so sorry, Lily.
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It was an accident.
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Will you please forgive me?"
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Lily looked at Leo's face.
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She saw that his eyes were
filled with sadness and worry.
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She realized she had a big choice to make.
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She could keep holding on to her hot,
heavy rock of anger, which meant shouting,
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staying mad, and ending their playtime.
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Or she could practice her
superpower and forgive him.
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Let's pause right there, explorers.
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If you were Lily, would it be easy or
hard to forgive Leo in this moment?
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Whisper your answer to me.
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Yeah, it is really hard.
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Lily was still feeling so mad.
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Her beautiful drawing was gone,
and no amount of saying sorry
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could magically fix the paper.
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Lily took a slow, deep breath.
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She looked at Leo and said
softly, "It's okay, Leo.
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I know you didn't do it on
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purpose.
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I forgive you."
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Right away, something magical happened.
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That hot rock inside Lily's
chest started to melt away.
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Forgiving Leo didn't bring the drawing
back, but what it did do was fix
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the invisible bridge between them.
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Leo smiled, the worry left his
face, and together they sat down and
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started drawing a brand-new dragon.
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It's game time.
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Now that we've seen how Lily
used her superpower, let's play
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a game called Forgave or Not Yet.
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I'm gonna tell you about some kids
who have a tough choice to make.
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Listen closely to what they do, and then
I want you to shout out, "They forgave!"
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or, "Not yet!"
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Let's play!
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Sam lent his favorite toy
skateboard to his friend Noah.
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Noah accidentally dropped it
on the sidewalk and cracked
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the little plastic wheel.
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Noah felt terrible and
said, "I'm so sorry, Sam.
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I'll help you fix it."
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Sam slammed his hands on his hips
and yelled, "You're clumsy, and
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I'm never letting you touch my
toys again," and stomped away.
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Did Sam forgive Noah?
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Shout out your answers on three.
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One, two, three.
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Not yet.
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Exactly.
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Sam is still holding on to
that heavy rock of anger.
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He is keeping the anger
locked up inside his chest.
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Next example.
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Chloe and Emma are at the beach.
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Emma is building a sandcastle.
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Chloe is carrying a bucket of water.
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She trips and spills it,
ruining what Emma has built.
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Chloe immediately apologizes.
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"Emma, I'm so sorry.
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I will help you build a new sandcastle."
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Emma takes a deep breath
and says, "It's okay.
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Let's build this one even taller."
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Did Chloe forgive Emma?
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One, two, three.
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Shout it out.
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She forgave.
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Yes, Chloe dropped the rock
right away and chose to keep
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having fun on their beach day.
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Last example.
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Lucas accidentally bumped into
Charlotte at the park while playing
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tag, causing her ice cream cone
to plop right into the dirt.
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Charlotte started crying because
she was sad about her ice cream.
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Lucas said, "I'm so sorry, Charlotte.
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I didn't see you."
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Charlotte wiped her tears and looked
at Lucas and said, "I'm sad about
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my treat, but it was an accident.
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Can I play tag with you?"
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Did Charlotte forgive Lucas?
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One, two, three.
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Shout it out.
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She forgave.
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Brilliant job, explorers.
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Charlotte was still disappointed
about her ice cream, but she was
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brave enough to forgive Lucas so
they could stay playground buddies.
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let's cross our friendship bridge.
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Close your eyes and picture a beautiful,
sturdy wooden bridge stretching
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from where you are right now all
the way over a sparkling blue river.
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This is the friendship bridge.
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As we walk across the creaky
wooden planks, creak, croak,
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creak, let's peek at how different
people around the world learn to
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use the superpower of forgiveness.
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First, look to the right
under that big oak tree.
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Here we see teachings
from the Christian faith.
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A long time ago, Jesus taught his
followers to always forgive others
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because God forgives them too.
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Christians tell a famous story called
The Parable of the Prodigal Son.
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In this story, a young son makes a
lot of bad choices and runs away.
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But when he finally comes back
home, his father doesn't yell.
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Instead, the father sees him from far
away, runs down the dirt road as fast
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as he can, and throws his arms around
his son in a massive hug before the son
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can even finish saying, "I'm sorry."
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This teaches Christians that forgiveness
should come straight from the heart.
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Now look to the left, near
the beautiful rose bushes.
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Here we see the traditions of Islam.
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Muslims follow the teachings of
the Prophet Muhammad, who was
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a very gentle and brave leader.
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One time, when the Prophet
Muhammad visited a new town, some
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people there were very mean to
him and even threw rocks at him.
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He was hurt, but instead of getting
angry or throwing rocks back,
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he stopped and prayed for them.
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He said he hoped that one day those
very same people would learn to be kind.
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The Qur'an, Islam's holy book,
teaches that when you are brave
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enough to forgive someone, God, called
Allah, will give you a beautiful,
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glowing reward: peace in your heart.
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Look over there by the
sunny picnic tables.
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Here we see people called humanists.
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Humanists are people who don't follow
a specific religion, but they care
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deeply about being good, kind neighbors.
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Humanists look at forgiveness as
a super important human value.
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One thoughtful humanist writer once
wrote that loving and forgiving
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aren't ideas that belong to just
one group; they belong to everyone
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because they are supremely human.
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To a humanist, when two kids decide
to forgive each other, they are
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making the world a happier, safer
place using their own human goodness.
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Look around.
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Even though these traditions use
different words and different stories,
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they all agree on the same thing.
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Holding on to anger makes us sad
and lonely, but forgiving each
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other lets our heart smile again.
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Whoa, that was a lot of talking.
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Now let's give our bodies a little break.
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Stand up for a moment, and
let's try a forgiveness flow.
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This is a special physical exercise
you can do anytime you feel a
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storm brewing in your chest.
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First, clench your fists tight.
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Bring your shoulders all
the way up to your ears.
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Crunch them up.
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tight.
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Squeeze your eyes shut.
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That's a bit like holding
on to anger inside.
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Now take a deep breath
in through your nose.
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Inflate your belly like a balloon.
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On a slow exhale through your
mouth, release your fists
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and shake your hands out.
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Shake off the hurt.
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Drop your shoulders down.
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Ah.
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Doesn't that feel a little better?
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Imagine all the angry feelings
sliding off your fingertips
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and disappearing into the dirt.
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Next, stretch both of your arms out wide
to the sides, as wide as airplane wings.
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Imagine you are opening your heart
up so big that you could give
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a giant hug to the whole world.
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Take a deep breath in, and as you breathe
out, wrap your arms around your chest,
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giving yourself a big, cozy squeeze.
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Feel the warmth in your chest.
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Give yourselves a round of applause.
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You moved through those steps, and maybe
you felt a bit of tension leave your body.
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Anytime you feel upset later, you can
stand up and do this flow to feel better.
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Now it's time for my
favorite part of the podcast.
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It's story time.
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I wonder what story
we're gonna hear today.
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To help us understand this even
more deeply, let's listen to a
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beautiful traditional story From
the Ojibwe Native American people.
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It is a story about the strawberry.
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Which they call ode'imin,
meaning heartberry.
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It takes place during the
season of the Heartberry Moon.
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The Heartberry Moon is the full
moon in June and represents
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the beginning of summer
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Long ago, a sister and a brother
pine marten lived together in
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the beautiful green forest.
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Now, pine martens are small furry
animals that look a bit like little
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woodland otters mixed with kittens,
and they love to climb trees.
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These two siblings were usually the best
of friends, but one bright morning, they
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got into a giant disagreement over who
found a special cozy tree hollow first.
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The disagreement grew bigger and
hotter like a crackling fire.
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They both held onto heavy rocks of anger.
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The brother pine marten chattered
angrily, and the sister pine
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marten thumped her tail.
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They were both saying mean words
that hurt each other's feelings.
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The sister was so upset and hurt that
she turned around, ran down from the
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trees, and walked far away through
the woods, leaving her brother behind.
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At first, the brother stayed up in
the branches and thought, " Good,
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the tree hollow is all mine now."
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But as the sun started to set, the
forest grew very dark, cold, and lonely.
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He looked at the cozy hollow,
but it didn't feel special at all
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without his sister to share it with.
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He realized his anger had chased
away his favorite playmate.
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He felt a deep sadness, and his
heart grew heavy like a real stone.
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He realized he had been wrong
to say those mean things.
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He scrambled down the tree and ran
out into the woods to find her,
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crying out to the wind, "I'm so sorry.
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I wanna treat my sister
with kindness again."
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The Creator looked down and saw the
sister walking far ahead on the trail.
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Her head was bowed, and her
eyes were full of tears.
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To help her stop crying and slow
down so her brother could catch
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up, the Creator decided to put
sweet gifts on the forest path.
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First, the Creator put a bush full of
ripe purple blueberries right in front
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of her, but she was too sad to notice.
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Then the Creator made a bush
of juicy raspberries, but she
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kept walking right past them.
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Finally, the Creator made a
brand new plant that had never
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grown in the forest before.
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It grew low to the ground with
bright red berries shaped exactly
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like a little human heart.
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The sweet heavenly smell of
these new berries caught the
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sister pine marten's attention.
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She stopped, leaned down, and tasted one.
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Mmm.
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As she ate the sweet berry, the
magical fruit worked like a medicine.
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The anger and sadness in her heart
began to melt away, and she remembered
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how much she loved her brother.
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Right then, her brother came bursting
through the bushes, panting and tired.
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He fell to his paws, looked
at her, and told her how truly
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sorry he was for his mean words.
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The sister looked down at the heart-shaped
berries, smiled, and said she was
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sorry for her tail-thumping anger too.
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She shared the sweet strawberries
with him, and together they scampered
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back to their trees, their friendship
completely back in balance.
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The Ojibwe people teach that the
strawberry is a direct medicine for
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our feelings because it is shaped
just like your heart, and all of
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its tiny seeds are on the outside.
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The elder teachers say that having
the seeds on the outside shows us
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how to be vulnerable, which means
being brave enough to open up our
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hearts and share our true feelings.
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Say I'm sorry and forgive.
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Every year, when the heart berry
moon shines full in the sky,
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the people remember to let go of
old arguments and choose love.
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What's inside our Belief
Backpack this week?
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Our grand adventure is coming
to a close for today, explorers.
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It is time to open up your
imaginary Belief Backpack.
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Unzip it with me.
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:
00:21:13
Zip.
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:
00:21:14
We learned so much today.
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:
00:21:17
We learned that anger feels like
a heavy rock and forgiveness
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:
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feels like a light feather.
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:
00:21:23
We saw how Lily and Leo rebuilt
their friendship, how traditions
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:
00:21:28
around the world celebrate second
chances, and how the two pine martens
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:
00:21:33
forgave under the Heartberry Moon.
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:
00:21:36
Now let's pack our one-line rule
inside our Belief Backpack, so
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:
00:21:40
you can carry it wherever you go.
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:
00:21:43
Repeat after me so you never forget it.
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:
00:21:53
Harper: Forgiveness means dropping
the heavy rock of anger so my
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:
00:21:58
heart can feel light again.
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:
00:22:06
Laura: Forgiveness means dropping
the heavy rock of anger, so
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:
00:22:09
my heart can feel light again.
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:
00:22:12
Let's say it one more
time in a silly voice to
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:
00:22:12
make it extra strong.
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:
00:22:12
Forgiveness means dropping
the heavy rock of anger, so
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:
00:22:12
my heart can feel light again.
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:
00:22:13
Laura: Zip it up tight so
it stays safe in your pack.
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:
00:22:17
Zip.
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:
00:22:18
Before I say goodbye, I have a very
special Belief Backpack challenge
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:
00:22:22
for you to try out this week.
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:
00:22:25
Sometime over the next few days,
someone you love is going to do
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:
00:22:29
something that makes you feel that
hot, heavy rock of anger in your chest.
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:
00:22:35
When that happens, I want you
to remember our adventure today.
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:
00:22:39
Do not yell and do not stomp.
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:
00:22:42
Instead, close your eyes, take a deep
breath, and imagine yourself dropping
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:
00:22:49
that heavy rock right onto the ground.
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:
00:22:52
Then walk up to that person,
give them a high five or a
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:
00:22:56
big hug and say, "That's okay.
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:
00:22:59
I forgive you."
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:
00:23:01
You'll notice how light, warm,
and happy your heart feels when
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:
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you choose to use your superpower.
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:
00:23:08
Thank you so much for exploring
the beautiful power of
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:
00:23:12
forgiveness with me today.
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:
00:23:14
You did an amazing job listening, moving
your body, and opening up your big heart.
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:
00:23:21
Until our next big adventure, stay
curious, stay kind, and keep exploring
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:
00:23:27
the wonderful world around you.
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:
00:23:29
Faithfully Explore! Outro:
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:
00:23:29
Faithfully Explore!
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:
00:23:32
is about you.
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:
00:23:37
Let's grow kinder together it's true!
