King Friday XIII

Once upon a time there was a wonderful neighborhood ruled by King Friday XIII.  I had known of the neighborhood before because of Mister Rogers, but had never spent much time there until recently.  In the last few months I have been so impressed by Mister Rogers and wanted to know more about him.  

Just this week I was introduced to King Friday XIII having only heard of him.  Turns out that he is “the imperious monarch of the neighborhood."  According to Wikipedia, "he is relatively egocentric, irrational, resistant to change, and temperamental, although open-minded enough to listen when told he is wrong. He has a fondness for giving long-winded speeches and using big words.”

Yikes!  He feels really familiar to me - maybe because I am a little like him…  

• Relatively egocentric, huh?  ...Yep, but then aren’t we all?
• Irrational?  ...Okay, sometimes guilty.
• Resistant to change?  Oh, dear; that could be me.
• Giving long-winded speeches and using big words?  ...Seriously?!?  Yah; don’t ask my family about that one!

I certainly did not expect to discover how much I am like King Friday. To the contrary, here I have been really hoping to emulate the mild-mannered Mister Rogers.  I am convinced that the world would be a better place if more of us would learn to be more like him.  Because you see, there are lots of us who are egocentric, irrational, resistant to change, temperamental, and yes, even imperious*.

The most obvious trait I want to learn is that of kindness.  Mister Rogers used to say… “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”

Yah, sounds redundant and maybe even silly; right?  

But it gives me pause.  

That’s the way I want to live my life.

That’s who I want to be - someone who treats all people with kindness.

So how do I do that?

Perhaps by following yet another of his examples - that of listening.  Really listening.  Listening to learn how it feels to be in the other person’s shoes. That kind of deep listening requires me to become comfortable with silence. To give myself time to think before reacting.

Oof!!! I admit that I am not good at that one! Silence can feel awkward, as if it needs to be filled. But Mister Rogers believed that “Silence is one of the greatest gifts we have.” 

Oh, dear. Here I’ve been saying all week that I want to be like Mister Rogers and then I find out that I might be more like King Friday! How will I ever upgrade to those more admirable traits?

But wait; there was one other trait that I might share with King Friday…  One that I’m kind of happy about.  I did notice that he is “open-minded enough to listen when told he is wrong.”

Good for him!!!

And good for me when I can do that.

Because that’s how I can become better. If I can be open-minded enough to listen, then maybe I can be kinder and more understanding…

But then...  even while I’m trying to be better...

What’s that I hear off in the distance... ?

“You are special and I like you just the way you are.”

Thanks, Mister Rogers!

I’m learning to like me just the way I am, too.

And that’s another really good step toward liking other people just the way they are.

...

* Vocab words for you to look up...

Cardigan Day

A friend just shared a post from a local business who is celebrating Cardigan Day - also officially known as World Kindness Day - celebrating the legacy of Mister Rogers and his efforts to spread kindness in the world.  I was delighted to think that this might really be a thing so I had to Google it.    ...     Sure enough, it turns out to be true.

In Pittsburg where Mister Rogers lived and worked and hosted his famous neighborhood,  WQED has invited locals to wear cardigan sweaters and to come to the station to see his new portrait on display in their building.  At one hospital the babies in the nursery are dressed in adorable little red cardigans for the day.  

There are so many of these “awareness days” that I don’t even try to keep track of them all.  However I did just discover a website about these events and a 2020 calendar so I guess I can if I want to.

I love what the staff at Knights Insurance Agency is doing - not only with wearing cardigans, but in taking extra time and effort to express Mister Rogers’ philosophy to their clients:  

We want you to know that you are special

and we like you just the way you are! 

...

Let’s go out and show some kindness today!

Because you see, the cardigans are cool and fun and adorable and I think Mister Rogers would have approved.  But I think he would have been even happier to think that people are celebrating kindness and searching for ways to show it to their neighbors.

So many helpers

Pretty much any day is a good day to remember bits of neighborly wisdom from Mister Rogers, but maybe especially on his birthday.

“When I was a boy

and I would see scary things in the news,

my mother would say to me,

“Look for the helpers.

You will always find people who are helping.”

To this day, especially in times of “disaster,”

I remember my mother’s words

and I am always comforted

by realizing that there are still so many helpers

–

so many caring people in this world.” 

-Fred “Mister” Rogers

On this his 90th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his neighborhood, I am grateful for this bit of perspective.  In fact, it has only been in recent years that I've learned enough about him to become a fan of his persona and his philosophy. While this little tidbit was meant by his mother to comfort a child, I have to admit it has helped me in these last few years of "scary things on the news."

It comforts me to know there are still so many helpers.

So many caring people in this world.

But it also challenges me to be one of them.

To not give up, but to keep caring and keep helping.