Please share this public service announcement from recording artist David Bryce:
Do you suffer from bullying?
I don’t just mean that schoolyard jerk who keeps punching you in the head when the teacher’s not looking, or the bad boss who makes everything look like it’s your fault or the boyfriend who calls you fat behind closed doors or in front of your friends—though I do mean them too—but I mean all the ways kids AND adults being mean or insensitive or just dominating others for some reason or another create this ripple effect in your community that brings the energy down and sucks up all the oxygen and wastes your precious time? You know, time you’d rather spend getting your own work done? Having fun with your peeps? Making the world a better place?
Well, you should be making the world a better place. And so should those jerks who are making you and other people feel like, well, (farting noise.)
If you suffer from bullying, suffer no longer. There is a solution!
There are many solutions, as a matter of fact! And I bet you know what some of them are already! Positive thoughts and speech, clear limits, high expectations, positive role models, warm family climates, self-esteem, impulse control, connection, trust, friendship, social skills, empathy, assertiveness, respect, good boundaries, compassion, fairness, prevention, resilience, kindness, mercy, non-violent communication, AND a sense of humor.
But that’s too much to say in one breath. (For you, but not for me.) So when you are looking for the word for that thing that transforms helplessness into hopefulness, just say:
Zorgos. (whisper) Zorgos. (shout) Zorgos!
It feels great, doesn’t it?
When you’ve got zorgos (and you KNOW people who have it—think Oprah, Malala, Springsteen, Mandela, Peter Parker—) you want to shift out of negative power dynamics and into positive connection. You want to find the thing that will help everyone get what they need so people stop climbing on everyone else’s power. You want to find friends who have zorgos, and you want to build zorgos into your family, your friendships, your school, your neighborhood, your workplace. You want to stop the (farting noise) and start the (cheering noise).
Zorgos comes from the esperanto word for “I will take care.” Esperanto is a worldwide language. If you want to learn more about how to build Zorgos and all it stands for into your life then grab a friend and read The Bullying Antidote together.
Visit the Zorgos Project at www.zorgosproject.com to get started.
The Zorgos Reader 