The other day I wandered over to the children’s section of the Eugene Public Library. I briefly glanced at some of the titles. A few were familiar; most of them weren’t. Then I reached the “S” section.
As I turned the corner, my eyes widened in surprise at seeing two entire shelves devoted to one of my favorite children’s book authors: Dr. Seuss.
As I skimmed over the many familiar titles, I remembered all the hours I spent reading Dr. Seuss books as a child. I couldn’t resist the temptation to take another peek at the stories I remember so well.
I imagine I looked pretty silly. There was no way I passed for an elementary school student, and the undignified way that I sat cross-legged on the floor with a huge grin on my face, flipping through each book, probably gave away the fact that I am not a parent.
But I didn’t really notice any strange stares. I was too busy enjoying the stories. And as I sat there reliving my childhood, I realized with amazement that the nonsensical fantasy stories of Dr. Seuss are actually wonderful fictional guidebooks on life.
Seuss handles such serious topics as equality and justice with light-hearted prose but heart-touching insight. He wrote in “Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories,” “I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down at the bottom we, too, should have rights.” And in the end, “…all the turtles are free. As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.”
The story of the Lorax deals with how we should treat and care for the environment. In this story the environment is destroyed by a greedy business that chops down all the Truffula trees and pollutes the clean water. And the Lorax explains, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Public issues are not the only areas that Seuss cleverly addresses in his books. He also provides insight into life in general. The wisdom Seuss uses in his books almost seems more profound then many self-help books. For instance, the story “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” encourages self-discovery and decision making. “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 guy who’ll decide where to go,” he writes.
When facing adversity, just remember these lines from “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?”:
“It’s a troublesome world. All the people who’re in it are troubled with troubles almost every minute. Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite lucky! Some people are much more … oh, ever so much more … oh, muchly, much-much more unlucky than you!”
So, if you ever need some insight
And you haven’t got a clue.
Take a small dose:
The Doc knows what to do.