If You Never Did, You Should...

"If you never did you should. These things are fun. These things are good."
~ Theodore Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss)

I received an e-mail this morning from a close friend calling my attention to the fact that today is the birthday of the man known to us as Dr. Seuss. I think back about the big influence he had on my life growing up. I grew up as an only child and thus I had to find ways to amuse myself. Reading became a big part of my life and I can remember checking out book after book written by Dr. Seuss in grade school. The simplicity of his language communicated thoughts and ideas that resonate in me now.

"A person's a person no matter how small." - Horton Hears a Who

"I speak for the trees! Let them grow! Let them grow!" - The Lorax

"It's high time you were shown/That you really don't know all there is to be known." ~ On Beyond Zebra

"I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down on the bottom we, too, should have rights!" ~ Yertle the Turtle

"You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in." ~ You're Only Old Once

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 will be the guy who'll decide where you'll go. /Oh the places you'll go. ~ OH, the Places You'll Go! (one of my all time favorites)

and other Seuss-isms that just ring true:

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities."

If you have never read a Dr. Seuss book, go directly to your nearest bookstore and pull one off the shelf and begin reading immediately. Because...."Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."

Santé