Friends,
Because Sunday was Mister Rogers Day in the Presbyterian Church (USA), I spent a lot of time over the weekend thinking about the importance of kindness and of gentleness and wondering about how I might be a better neighbor to people close to home and far off.
A lot of my “Rogersesque” musing started when I watched two films about Fred Rogers–a documentary called “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, and a biopic called “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”. I watched both movies on Saturday night and I did this because I wanted to make sure I got at least a few details right when I pretended to be Mr. Rogers before the start of my sermon on Sunday. I certainly picked up a few tricks (tossing my penny loafer from one hand to the other, for example), but better than that, I was reminded of how important kindness, gentleness and neighborliness are.
After church on Sunday afternoon, I went for a walk so that I could look at the spring flowers blooming in the neighborhood, and I while I was walking, I felt a great deal of happiness welling up inside of me. It’s possible I felt happy because I was looking at beautiful flowers, and the happiness may have come as a result of having had a gratifyingly- solid post-church nap, but I also suspect that my contemplation of kindness, gentleness, and neighborliness played a role in the joy I experienced after church on Sunday.
Thinking about Mr. Rogers helped me to remember that ugliness and violence and meanness don’t have to define me or anyone else. By focusing on kindness, gentleness, and neighborliness, I was able to remind myself that decency, respect, and love are powerfully transformative. This brought me a measure of hope.
It is possible that I am the only one made happy by thinking about kindness, gentleness, and neighborliness, but I doubt it. I suspect that while results may vary, all of us can enjoy the benefits of thinking about kindness, gentleness and being a good neighbor.
God’s Peace,
Ben
