Find Inspiration in Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers

Last week, a YouTube video featuring Mr. Rogers swept across Facebook. Cleverly edited and auto-tuned, it was a music video created from clips of Fred Rogers speaking to his young viewers at various points on his show, the central thought being, "You can grow ideas in the garden of your mind." It was whimsical, inspiring and nostalgic, and it reminded me that on a recent trip to the library, I had taken out Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers, a collection of his wisdom published in 2005.

This follow-up to The World According to Mister Rogers follows the same basic format. The cover is turquoise instead of red, but the inside looks much the same, with a clean format that makes for easy perusal. The text on each page is set inside of a rectangular outline. No page features more than one quote, but several quotes stretch across more than one page. In these instances, the outline is incomplete. If the quote does not end on a given page, the bottom side is missing. If it is continued from a previous page, the top is missing. This basic design helps make the book very easy to read.

The book begins with a ten-page reflection from Fred's wife, Joanne Rogers, who discusses his keen interest in people and his deep belief in Heaven and in a God who truly wants to see everyone there. This sets the tone for this book, which is more overtly spiritual than the first. The subject of God comes up quite often over the roughly 140 pages of quotes spread across three chapters: Who You Are Right Now, Loving and Being Loved and Guided Drift. Of course, so does the notion of being special, as this is how he saw every person he encountered, and it was deeply entwined with his theology.

The idea of people being comfortable with who they are is central to the first chapter, which also includes thoughtful ruminations on the art of listening and taking time to ponder questions deeply and on the human longing for redemption. He occasionally mentions someone he admires to set forth their example. For instance, he shares a story of how master cellist Yo-Yo Ma encouraged one of his students, and he twice quotes Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "What is essential is invisible to the eyes."

The chapter is rich in gentle wisdom, but I think my favorite thought comes toward the beginning, when he says, "I believe that at the center of the universe there dwells a loving spirit who longs for all that's best in all of creation, a spirit who knows the great potential of each planet as well as each person, and little by little will love us into being more than we ever dreamed possible. That loving spirit would rather die than give up on any one of us."

The second chapter is the shortest, though not by much; the book is fairly evenly divided. Here, he turns his attention to interpersonal relationships, talking about how important people are to each other. He speaks of the love of friends, relatives, neighbors - all those special someones who make a person feel truly appreciated. Here, he asserts that genuinely loving someone means loving even the parts of them that aren't so perfect and that the most cherished memories tend to be of the simplest moments.

He urges everyone to look for the good in others and nurture it instead of condemning. The tone is always affirming and uplifting. For instance, my favorite quote from this chapter reads, in part, "I believe that appreciation is a holy thing - that when we look for what's best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we're doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we're participating in something sacred."

The third chapter is really about the idea of life being a journey with paths that branch off in unexpected directions. He discusses how much potential each person has and how figuring out one's purpose tends to involve a lot of experimentation and is an ever-changing thing. He also emphasizes the need for comfort from friends and renewal through solitude during trying times, and he urges risk-taking and being willing to face failure.

The final quote in the book sums up the philosophy that guides the pages preceding it. This is the patient host so many children grew up with, and anyone who applies these lessons will be the better for it. "My hope for you at the beginning of this new moment in your life is that you will take good care of that part of you where your best dreams come from, that invisible part of you that allows you to look on yourself and your neighbor with delight. Do your best to appreciate the gifts that you really are and always will be - to look for every opportunity that allows you to clap and cheer, loving your neighbor as yourself."

This book is a quick read, with some quotes only a sentence long and the longest ones only taking up 15 lines per page. It's easy to breeze through but worth taking more slowly, mulling over each morsel and ingesting it carefully. While some of the quotes here come from his show, the primary audience is not children. Rather, it is adults who yearn for a life of greater serenity and gentleness. Spending and afternoon with Fred Rogers may just make that more attainable.