Kindness 101 with Steve Hartman: How to find empathy

All right, we're going to turn now to our series Kindness 101 with Steve Hartman. In it, we share stories built around kindness and character and the people who have mastered those qualities. Today's lesson, Positivity. Steve and his kids show us how one family's positive outlook in tough times opened a window to a world they could never have imagined. Good morning. This is Meryl, my soon-to-be nine-year-old daughter, here to help me teach a lesson on... Positivity. Emmett, at the dictionary desk, can you define this word? Yes, I can, Meryl. Positivity is the practice of extracting a sunny takeaway from a not-so-good situation. Yeah, positivity isn't being happy because you won the lottery. That's easy. It's not too easy. No, not winning the lottery, but being happy if you win the lottery. Yes. Winning the lottery is going to be something that everyone is excited about. Positivity is really like you have to take a bad situation and look at it. Yeah, positivity is finding joy in the negative, strange as that sounds. Correct. And this is a very important tool to have in your tool belt. So let's look now at our library of life lessons and pull down a tale that illustrates the power of positivity. Aside from immediate family, no one was allowed in the house to see three-year-old Quinn Waters of Weymouth, Massachusetts. And more importantly, Quinn wasn't allowed out. We basically keep him in a bubble just as a precaution. Even a cold, a common cold, could be something that will bring him back into the hospital. Parents, Jarleth and Tara, say Quinn's natural immunity was temporarily wiped out after he got a stem cell transplant to treat his brain cancer. We are a tanzen. Fortunately, the kid is a fighter, and he kept a mostly positive attitude. Do you want a drink or anything, dude? No, thank you. But it still stunk. He sees all of this happening, and he knows he's stuck inside. And there would be days. Days when Quinn was literally pounding to get out. Unfortunately, staring out a window is a poor substitute for walking out a door. Quinn's connection to the outside world has been limited to whoever passes by. Which hasn't been all that limiting, actually. It started off with family members, like, come through the window. Then the neighbors started showing up to entertain. The police caught wind. And pretty soon, top-notch performers were just showing up on Quinn's front lawn. It's turning into like a vaudeville stage out there. The window kind of became his window to the world, you know? It got so you never knew what might happen by. One minute it could be a dog parade. Look at that dog! The next, a team of Irish step dancers. Everyone brought together by word of mouth and a will to help Quinn get better. Which his parents say did start happening. It's the positive energy from all these people that we believe has gotten him through his sickness, you know? You can never repay, you know? Just maybe pay it forward, you know? Being indebted has never felt so fortunate. Come on, come on. You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn. Quinn's parents, Tara and Jarleth, join us now. Hello. Hi. First of all, you've got to tell us how Quinn's doing. Oh, Quinn is doing really well. He relapsed in 2021. But since that time, he received radiation and he's been stable. Played t-ball now with his friends in school. He looks great. Hair. I've never seen hair on the boy. Yes. He's got a great flow going. He's got the hockey hair, we call it. What struck me most after our first visit was the fact that you seem to think that positivity would actually make him better. I don't think it can all be just modern medicine. I think you have to have a positive outlook on things. So you think that thoughts can change reality? 100%. Absolutely. Yeah. It'll change the outcome and I think it'll change your outlook as you go on anything. And has the grass grown back on your yard? Grass will never be the same. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We've been positively thrilled to have you. Thank you for having us. Bye. A really good lesson there. And a reminder that often when one door closes, another window opens. We'll see you next time. Until then, stay kind. We will do exactly that, Merrill. It's so great to see him. I know. It is so good. Up and about. And doing well. I just love these pieces. The family dynamic between... The Hartman family. The Hartman family is just so good. Yeah. They're a lesson in all things goodness. All of them. It's great. Thank you, Steve and Merrill and of course Emmett. Thank you.