Lessons from Mister Rogers
2007
I love books! I am a book hound! I enjoy being in places where I am surrounded by literary works of all types. (That, in fact, is how I met my husband – at Border’s Books in Atlanta, GA). I had the opportunity to spend some time in our high school library today, so I walked to the section where the inspirational collection is housed and discovered a few books I had heard about but had never picked up. One of those books was The World According to Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers, a small book with great, warm, encouraging wisdom.
As a child I seldom watched Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I thought, in fact, the show was a bit corny. I didn’t get why he would come in the house and take off his coat, only to put on a sweater. I thought he was too soft-spoken. I didn’t care for his songs because they were too slow-paced. And because I couldn’t get past these small details, I never really learned much about what he had to say about “the neighborhood.”
I learned that the material contained in The World According to Mister Rogers was derived from the actual show. One of the “precepts” from the show and included in this gem of a work says,
“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”
I want to offer all of you whose blog I’ve visited (and will visit) and to those who have visited mine (who have commented or not), you all have made a great impact on me. I have met many people since I’ve begun this blog, and I’ve learned alot. So if I didn’t learn anything about “the neighborhood” watching Mister Rogers when I was young, I believe I certainly have the opportunity to learn now. Thank you all for all the work you do to encourage, inspire, and help us all grow in new and different ways.
Thanks, all of you, who have moved into “my neighborhood.”
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Thanks for this!! I actually grew up in the “hometown” of Mr. Rogers (Pittsburgh, PA) and watched the show often when I was young. I’ll look for this book.
I used to watch Mr. Rogers! I thought he was a chum! LOL. Ahh… my soft and gentle childhood is no more!
I never watched it either, but the it’s really amazing how much blogging and meeting other bloggers have affected me and changed me!
Hi Laura,
The book is a great read, and I think you’ll really enjoy it.
Hi Camille,
That’s funny!
Hi Shaz,
It is amazing how much you learn and grow from other people. What’s amazing is that it can be done through technology and not face-to-face. Before blogging, I had a problem with this. I asked my students (who use facebook religiously) how they can develop and maintain relationships with people just be using a computer. Blogging has shown me the possibilities.
Me and Mr. Rogers go way back.
I vividly remember nightmares featuring Lady Elaine Fairchilde warning me of my neighbors vicious dog. I cried when I heard of his passing. He was such a gentle soul, he saw children as people and was not condescending at all.
Thank you for bringing back warm memories. I also loved that he took off his shoes and switched them for sneakers and a cozy cardigan while singing.
All the best to you
Yes, Mr. Rogers was a great man of God.
I didn’t even know he was a minister till around the time of his death.
And folks like you, KWiz and Manchild, have also made a great impact on me in a short time.
Be blessed and I pray your husband is getting better,
Paula
Hi Danielle,
Thank you Danielle. Mister Rogers clearly had a wonderful impact on you. Thank you much for responding. Take care, and I’ll be by to see you soon!
Hey Paula!
I didn’t know he was a minister either. It makes sense though. Being a minister doesn’t always mean preaching from a pulpit. He served right there in that TV studio and probably reached more people than if he had just doing “traditional” ministry.
Paula, you have impacted our lives tremendously as well. I enjoy coming to your site to see what you have to say. Thank you for what you’ve brought to my life.
Manchild is much better. He’s back to the salt mines…