Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known to many a child as Dr. Seuss, had such profound knowledge locked up inside his head that when he let it out, it seemed to be spoken in a bizarre language. What we didn’t realize when we hopped on pop or turned down green eggs and ham was that most of Dr. Seuss’ advice on life was going way over our heads. It was something we were going to need to look back on years later to fully understand and appreciate.
As I was thinking about what to muse over on this page today, I realized that Dr. Seuss’ wisdom, something that I am currently turning back to myself, was the exact right thing to write about on this Friday eve. The hardest part right now is simply narrowing down the quotes to write something that is a reasonable length. In case you are inspired to look for more quotes, here’s the search I did to get myself started.
I had never attributed this quote to Dr. Seuss. In fact, I don’t even think I’ve heard this quote before. Despite that, Dr. Seuss was on point. Think about it:life just doesn’t make sense sometimes. Things happen that are beyond our realm of understanding, and we simply can’t accept that. Adults are so small-minded. They want concrete answers and they want them instantaneously. That just isn’t always an option. Kids take this quote for granted, accepting that life is mystical and magical and that they just won’t always get it. This quotes is a wonderful reminder that we won’t always “get it” right away, but that doesn’t mean life won’t make sense or eventually just have a meaning for you personally. Dwelling on something you don’t understand doesn’t always find a solution. Sometimes it just takes patience and time to realize the significance of a life event.
Reading this one made me laugh. It also struck a nerve. Nonsense is healthy. Fiction is healthy. It’s a darn good thing to consider something illogical and confusing. Kids are full of nonsense, and they don’t even realize what it does for them. it makes them creative and full of wonder at the things we take for granted. Accepting the nonsense in your life, whether it is the person who is impossibly rude or stubborn or the traffic that triples your commute, allows you to reconsider things and maybe even look at them in that amazing nonsensical way you have been neglecting.
This one is by far my absolute favorite quote from Dr. Seuss’ collection. How better to explain love than in a way that even kids can understand. Also, “mutual weirdness” may be the new way I tell somebody I love them. “I find us to be mutually weird in just the right way.” If that doesn’t say “I love you,” then I simply don’t know what will. Love is an impossibly difficult thing to understand as it is a living, growing and changing thing for most people. With that in mind, teaching kids what love is in these terms when they are young will help them to prepare for when they are 20 and lost on the concept of love (like me). I never thought Dr. Seuss would be the one to reexplain love to me, but I think he just did.
Dr. Seuss really was a wise man. He may have used nonsensical words, but sometimes the words we have just aren’t enough to convey our point. If you get the chance to look back on some Dr. Seuss and consider what he said to child you, adult you might learn a thing or two.
Amanda N. Marino 