Friday was Valentine’s Day, which you probably know.
It’s a hard date to avoid, because whether you are single or coupled or anything else, this holiday is pretty good at reminding you of your “primary relationship” status (and however you feel about it).
When my kiddos were little, we watched a lot of, and had multiple books of, a delightful animated show called Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. If you’re not familiar with Daniel Tiger, you might know the show it is based on: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, created by one of my personal heroes, Fred Rogers, which ran from 1968-2001 (!).
Daniel carries on in the tradition and style of Mr. Rogers, teaching kids about human respect, kindness, and emotional intelligence through a world of make-believe and seriously catchy songs… many of which I could sing to you now if you were to ask…
On Daniel Tiger, Valentine’s Day is known as “Love Day” and I just, well, love that.
It is a celebration of love in all forms, as Daniel and his friends celebrate the love they have for their parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors. It’s heartwarming and precious.
I can’t help but wish our Valentine’s Day was a bit more like Love Day.
Especially right now.
To me, the world feels a bit chaotic at the moment. To some friends reading this, that will feel like the understatement of this decade. To others, maybe not. Wherever you land on it, I hope we can agree that more love is always a good thing.
During the pandemic, a quote from Mr. Rogers started making the rounds. He talked about something his mother told him when he was young, something she would say during times of catastrophe: “Always look for the helpers. There will always be helpers.”
If you enjoy watching videos of Mr. Rogers (like I do) you can see him talk about this here.
Like so much of Mr. Rogers’ work, I think this statement was primarily aimed at helping children navigate their way in the world. And as an adult, I admit I find it helpful, too.
Who are the helpers of today? Can you find them?
Can I?
As we’ve talked about, it seems we are entering a time of decline and rebirth, where old systems will die, necessarily, so they can be reimagined as new things. I think we can see this starting to happen all around us. The season of endless, boundless, profit-centric growth at all costs is coming to a close, and it may very well look like a catastrophe.
What do we do??
I think it’s time we take Mr. Rogers’ wisdom a step further.
Because while “looking for helpers” is good advice for children, I think the message to us as adults is something else…
I think it’s:
“You must BE those helpers.”
Are you ready to be a helper?
Some days I don’t feel ready for that.
But I think it’s our time, my friends.