Margaret Serious

‘Kindness and Wonder’ — Share what you’ve learned, as Mister Rogers did

“I know how much I’ve struggled to look with my heart and not just my eyes when I see someone who is obviously different from me. If adults have such a challenge, imagine what a challenge that can be for children,” Fred Rogers once said.

Gavin Edwards mentions that quotation in his tenth and final “way to live like Mister Rogers,” called “Share what you’ve learned. (All your life.)” This chapter is a summary of the stories in Edwards’ book “Kindness and Wonder,” the book I’ve been writing about over the past ten Mondays in order to share and live out its ideas.

The chapter is the story of speeches late in Fred Rogers’ life, between the end of his TV program for children and his death on Feb. 27, 2004. I had to look up the date, but I don’t have to remember how I felt. I was very upset by the great weather. I couldn’t stand that it was a beautiful day in this neighborhood, but Mister Rogers wasn’t there.

But to make a long story short, what I take away from the book is in the first paragraph of this post: “imagine what a challenge that can be for children.” That’s what Fred Rogers wanted adults to do, no matter what “that” was. He knew how to imagine.

Treating people with kindness and seeing the world with child-like wonder can happen for us adults. Fred Rogers showed us how.

I’ve shared this series of posts because of all the soothing memories that Gavin Edwards’ Sustaining Book has brought back to me.

The world today needs “Kindness and Wonder,” the book, because it needs kindness and wonder, the qualities.

Let’s keep them around, neighbors.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook.

What’s next? At this writing, I don’t know — but you can have it delivered if you’ll subscribe. Type your e-mail address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam-free, and you can opt out at any time.

Filed under:
Sustaining Books

Tags:
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood