Adults complicate things. When faced with a complex or controversial problem, grownups have a tendency to gravitate toward the details and sometimes lose sight of the big picture. Conversely, ask most children about how to solve the same problem and you’ll often receive a simple, straightforward solution. Sometimes oversimplified, it’s true, but often far wiser than one would expect, considering the source.
Out of the mouths of babes… I think some of the world’s best philosophers are able to hold onto this child’s way of perceiving the things around them. Peeling away the layers surrounding an issue, finding the central kernel of truth and picking it out for the world to see and understand. The truths spoken by kids, so often perceptive and unbiased, are the reason I return to children’s books for reminders of simple lessons that I sometimes find myself forgetting.
With the approach of Earth Day, I decided to bring this reasoning to church by sharing the philosophy of Dr. Seuss with my congregation. I chose one of the well-thumbed books on my shelf, The Lorax, to convey my message. For those unfamiliar with the story, The Lorax is about an overuse of natural resources by a character called the Once-ler. The title character, the Lorax, tries to counsel the Once-ler on using the resource responsibly and respecting the environment, to no avail.
Towards the end of the book it seems as though there is no hope and that the damage is irreversible. But it’s here at the end that the message rests, and in a surprise twist, it rests with the Once-ler. Out of the seeming gloom, he reminds the audience “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
In this one line, Dr. Seuss reminds us that we each have the power to change the world around us, if only we care enough to act. You may recognize this message in a more adult context, voiced by another great mind, Ghandi: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change toward him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” Or in its bumper sticker version: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
So I challenge you, whether you have kids or not, to not dismiss the wisdom of children’s books. If you have kids, I challenge you to listen for the moral when you read tonight’s bedtime story. Listen with the ears of your inner child. If you don’t have kids or someone to read to, I challenge you to revisit a book from your own childhood (the public library is a great resource if you don’t own it anymore). You may be surprised at what you take away from the read.
• Shea Winterberger teaches at Juneau Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
