Summary: Mr. Rogers was probably the first adult who put words to the magical inner life I lived as a kid. I loved the fact that he thought every body and every person was special no matter where they came from and that the extraordinary was as real as we believed. Earlier this week a friend passed this video on to me. PBS did some amazing remixes from early children's shows, and I recommend them all. (Reading Rainbow is also a must-see.) As of this post I've watched it enough to burn the music into my brain and bop uncontrollably along with the music. This is a good thing. In my last post I talked about the impermanence of life and the importance of stepping into the river of risk to do what's in us to do. Fred Rogers knew all about this; he made his mark in the time he had and I will be forever grateful. I found these words of his wisdom and wanted to share them with the helpers in all of us. ♦ “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” ♦ “The greatest gift you can ever give is your honest self.” ♦ “Confronting our feelings and giving them appropriate expression always takes strength, not weakness. It takes strength to acknowledge our anger, and sometimes more strength yet to curb the aggressive urges anger may bring and to channel them into nonviolent outlets. It takes strength to face our sadness and to grieve and to let our grief and our anger flow in tears when they need to. It takes strength to talk about our feelings and to reach out for help and comfort when we need it.” - - - - - - - You might also like: It Might Not Work Barefoot into Joy Hammer Time
