- Keep inspirational quotes tucked away somewhere like a wallet or daily planner to keep words of wisdom close so that you can receive frequent reminders of what is important in life. According to wife Joanne, Mister Rogers carried this quote with him:
He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men, and the love of little children, who has filled his niche and accomplished his task, who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul, who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it, who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had, whose life was an inspiration, whose memory a benediction. Bessie Anderson Stanley
- Another quote that Rogers always kept close by:
There isn't anyone you couldn't love once you've heard their story. Mary Lou Kownacki
The next time you want to judge or be angry at someone, say to yourself, "But I wonder what was going on in that person's day" (Rogers 8). - You should always do the best that you can, but the best you can might not always live up to your expectations. Be understanding that the best other people can do might not always live up to your expectations, either; we do what we can with what we have when we have it.
- You can't control your feelings, but you can control the choices you make about what to do with those feelings.
- Find creative ways to honor the people you love. The puppet Queen Sara Saturday was named after Rogers' wife (Hattikudur) and "lively, elderly delivery man" (Rogers 24) Mr. McFeely was inspired by his maternal grandfather.
Part of the problem with the word disabilities is that is immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for grant. But what of people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find in life no joy, no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities (Rogers 25).
- In the wise words of Massive Attack:
Love, love is a verb / Love is a doing word. "Teardrop"
Love is not merely a state of bliss; loving someone means working to accept that person for exactly who they are. - When you tell someone not to cry, all that implies is, "I don't know how or want to deal with your emotions." Next time a person cries in front of you, let them know that it's okay and that you're there for them.
- It is possible to change some of the things about your past that you don't like. It isn't easy, but it is possible.
You bring all you ever were and are to any relationship you have today (Rogers 87).
About Mister Rogers:
Born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on the cusp of Pisces and Aries in 1928, Fred McFeely Rogers was best known for creating and hosting the children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He also served as composer, puppeteer, and writer from the show's 1968 inception until its end in 2001. Over the course of almost nine hundred episodes, Rogers took millions of children through the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and reminded them that they could make each day special just by being them. When he died from stomach cancer in 2003, Arthur creator Mark Brown said, "He never used the word death, he always used the word the words 'going to heaven.' Boy, if anyone deserves to be in heaven, it's Fred Rogers" (Owen and Vancheri).
Works Cited:
- Owen, Rob and Barbara Vancheri. "Fred Rogers die at 74." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 28 February 2003
- Hattikudur, Mangesh. "15 Reasons Mister Rogers Was The Best Neighbor Ever." mental_floss. (Ma7 23, 2007). July 4, 2009
- Rogers, Fred. The World According to Mister Rogers. New York: Hyperion, 2003.
