On this, the 50th anniversary of Dr. Seuss`s marvelous The Cat in the Hat books caused me to reflect on some of the pretty incredible lessons this modern-day philosopher taught with his exotically imaginative stories. I think I read almost all of his books. Although the Cat in the Hat wasn't my favorite, in reading the many news stories about him brought back memories that have influenced me and countless others.For example, Dr. Seuss urges us to look back on our lives with a positive perspective: "Don`t cry because it`s over...Smile because it happened."
So today, as we celebrate Dr. Seuss and the amazing stories that keps us fascinated as kids, maybe we can apply some of his philosophy to our adult life. His advice to help us find and own uniqueness is timeless and wise: "A person`s a person, no matter how small. Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."Dr. Seuss urged us not to fret too much about what others think:"Be who you are and say what you want because those who mind don`t matter and those who matter don`t mind."
To get us started he tells us to get on our way: "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting."
But he also tells us to choose our own mountains and take control of our lives:
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You`re on your own,
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one
Who`ll decide where to go.
In conclusion, look at what Dr. Seuss did for us. He put adult concepts of morals and ethichs into a language that we, ask kids, could understand. In today's world, we need something like these Dr. Seuss books to help teach our kids some of life's most important lessons. Lesson's that influenced me and will influence children for many generations to come. Reading the many news articles about the anniversary and about his life reminded me of the joy I had as a kid reading his stories. And let me remind you of Horton who put it simply, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant`s faithful one-hundred percent."Happy Anniversary Dr. Seuss!
