I saw that the Mister Rogers (Fred Rogers) documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? will be available on Redbox on September 4th. I marked it on my calendar. I’m sorry that I missed seeing it at the theaters, but I’m really looking forward to watching it soon. Like most adults my age, I grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on television regularly.
When I was a kid, I saw Mister Rogers as a nice, kind, gentle man. I found his show calming and predictable, in a good way. I had no idea of just how wise a man he was, until I started reading some of his writings. He was a man who was entirely devoted to what he saw as his purpose in life – the caring for and betterment of children.
One of my favorite quotes from Mister Rogers which has oft been repeated, especially during horrific times in history like 9/11, is this, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
That is excellent advice that we often espouse to our children. I would tell my kids if they ever got lost in a store or at a park, to look for other mommies like me. Ladies helping children, would be the best people to ask for help. We think of this as good advice for children, but in reality, isn’t it good advice for everyone? Look for the helpers.
As adults we sometimes get trapped into believing the “I’ve got this,” mentality. We think we must be stoic, independent and all powerful. We tell our children to “look for the helpers,” but for some reason we think that once we hit the adulthood button, we don’t need any help. Ironically, we think it is important to do good, kind deeds for others in our community, but we ourselves don’t need any help. Extra ironically, it’s typically the people who have been on the receiving end of help that are able to give back and to help others in the best way. These people have empathy to know what it feels like to be helped back on to their own two feet and they want to pass that blessing on.
A few years back a friend of mine was lamenting about feeling like he had lost his idealism. A young woman who had grown up in the same town as he had grown up in had just died in the Middle East. She had been there helping survivors of ISIS torture and she was tragically killed for doing the good. My friend was in awe of her heroism and felt ashamed that he hadn’t done more for society. Now from an outside view, this man is the epitome of “helper.” He is an excellent family man, always doing things with and for his wife and his kids; he was always there for friends and neighbors to listen and then to offer heartfelt, thought-out advice and assistance. He had even “adopted” and helped an elderly couple in his neighborhood as if they were his own parents.
I think sometimes we all get trapped into thinking that we have to do big and dramatic things to make a difference in the world. We live in awe of the Gandhis and Martin Luther Kings and Mother Teresas and Mister Rogers of the world, and we sometimes feel small and worthless in comparison. But what if they are just the Big Examples who our Source has put in place to remind the rest of us to be everyday helpers and yet also to accept help when we need it? What if they are just the Big Reminders to us to be kind and loving in our everyday interactions with each other? While I admire and respect the big gestures and convictions of others, it is the every day people who have shown me the face of God in a very personal way and I am not sure which is more important, but I know all of it is very important.
I’ll end with this quote from Mister Fred Rogers, “The purpose of life is to listen – to yourself, to your neighbor, to your world and to God and, when the time comes, to respond in as helpful a way as you can find . . . from within and without.”
