Invisible, Imperishable Good Stuff

My wife came into the study to drop off a book she'd just finished reading. I glanced at it and the first thing that caught my eye was the illustration of a sweater:

As soon as I saw that sweater, I thought "Huh, must be a book about Mr. Rogers."

I was close: "The World According to Mr. Rogers, Important things to Remember," is a collection of thoughts collected from his life.

I feel like I need Mr. Rogers in my life now much more than I did as a kid.

I need someone to remind me that if I want to accomplish my dreams, I have to do the work.

I need someone to remind me I have dreams.

We're heading into winter here, and the seasonal depression it brings with it. I might have to pull this book out every day and reread a few passages from it, just to help me get along.

I recommend this book. Read it all at once or a few pages at a time, but more importantly apply what he says. Work on your dreams. Be kind. And remember the shining moments:

In the eternal scheme of things, Shining moments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings are what eternity is made of -- moments when we human beings can say "I love you," "I'm proud of you," "I forgive you," "I'm grateful for you." That's what eternity is made of: invisible, imperishable good stuff.

I'll quote one more, which ties in with the first:

Beside my chair is a saying in French. It inspires me every day. It's a sentence from Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince," and it reads, "L'essential est invisible pour les yeux." (What is esential is invisible to the eyes.) The closer we get to know the truth of that sentence, the closer I feel we get to wisdom.

That which has real value in life in any millennium is very simple. Vewry dep and very simple! It happens inside of us -- in the "essential invisible" part of us, and that is what allows everyone to be a potential neighbor.