Whimsical Wisdom

"Your Majesty, please... I don't like to complain,

But down here below, we are feeling great pain.

I know, up on top you are seeing great sights,

But down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.

We turtles can't stand it. Our shells will all crack!

Besides, we need food. We are starving!" groaned Mack.

This weekend we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss and my newsfeed was full of some pretty fantastic quotes, pulled from the beloved books of my childhood. As I began to think fondly on those books, I was struck by the things they (secretly) taught me about people and the world. The Lorax made me remember the environment. Green Eggs and Ham taught me to try new things. The Grinch made me question, "what if Christmas doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."  

To be clear, I didn't learn all my life lessons from these books, but children can learn lessons without knowing that is what they are doing. Adults, on the other hand, have a harder time.   As I was considering Seuss' birthday, I contemplated my favorite Seuss book. It wasn't one that I read as a child. Rather, my high school boyfriend gave it to me as a gift. I cant exactly remember if it was for my 18th birthday or for Graduation... but my senior year of high school I was given Yertle the Turtle.  

But I didn't read it at 18.
Or 21.
Or 23.
But the year I turned 25, I moved. And I found Yertle.  

At 25, I was a different person than I had been at 18. Much different. My faith beliefs were different. My political beliefs were (much) different. My attitude about people was different. And there I was, 25 years old, being taught a very important life lesson from Dr. Seuss.  

If you haven't read about King Yertle, you should. It can change your life, if you let it.
Or, just maybe, it can cause you to change someone else's.  

"And the turtles, of course... all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be."