If Jesus lived in the 20 century, he may have looked like this (+ beard.)
So I think I found a new hero. Yes, indeed – it’s the man who made it cool to play with puppets and wear red cardigan sweaters.
Mr. (Fred) Rogers amazes me. Everything about him – his wisdom, his humility, his simplicity, his gentleness (not to mention his vast knowledge of developmental psychology.) The guy should be considered a saint. St. Fred Rogers…I like that!
Now, before you get the false assumption that I’m in the works of starting my own First Church of Fred Rogers (you know, like Peter Griffin and his First Church of the Fonz), I’m merely discovering that this man has so many Christ-like qualities it blows my mind. I don’t know about you, but oftentimes it’s a difficult thing to model my lifestyle after Christ’s – mostly because our present-day culture is entirely different.
For me, it’s helpful to visual an actual human being that existed recently in history. Some tangible skin and bones whose lifestyle so closely resembled that of Jesus himself. Strangely (and maybe even sadly), it’s difficult to compile an extensive list of people who have lived recently – Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr…and…uh…is that it? Now, as a result of some research and study, I think it’s safe to add Fred Rogers to that mix. That may sound crazy to some, but to me, it gives me a target. A model. An ideal. A motivation.
There are 9 separate 30-minute archive interviews of Mr. Fred Rogers that you will enjoy immensely. Some moments will make you laugh, some will make you cry and some will just cause your jaw to drop to floor in amazement. Click here for the first interview.
I’m sure I’ll be writing more in the near future about some of Mr. Rogers’ quotes, anecdotes and ideas. In the meantime, I leave you with this quote:
“My desire is to help children realize that deep and simple are far more important than shallow and complicated and fancy.” – Fred Rogers
Peace,
John
Indeed…it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. St. Fred sounds good to me.
How did I miss this? I think deep and simple is equally as vital for adults. Unfortunately, growing up takes away a lot of the simple and magically turns it into twisted and complex. Is it the growing up or is it us and our need to know more than we should? Awesome post John.