Mister Rogers Kindness Quotes

Mutual caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain.

Solitude is different from loneliness, and it doesn't have to be a lonely kind of thing.

[I]f we can bring our children understanding, comfort, and hopefulness when they need this kind of support, then they are more likely to grow into adults who can find these resources within themselves later on. (from the introduction)

Mutually caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain. We need to accept the fact that it's not in the power of any human being to provide all these things all the time. for any of us, mutually caring relationships will always include some measure of unkindness and impatience, intolerance, pessimism, envy, self-doubt, and disappointment.

Imagine what our real neighbors would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person. There have been so many stories about the lack of courtesy, the impatience of today's world, road rage and even restaurant rage. Sometimes, all it takes is one kind word to nourish another person. Think of the ripple effect that can be created when we nourish someone. One kind empathetic word has a wonderful way of turning into many.

The world is not always a kind place. That’s something all children learn for themselves, whether we want them to or not, but it’s something they really need our help to understand.

I remember one of my seminary professors saying people who were able to appreciate others—who looked for what was good and healthy and kind—were about as close as you could get to God—to the eternal good. And those people who were always looking for what was bad about themselves and others were really on the side of evil. “That’s what evil wants,” he would say. “Evil wants us to feel so terrible about who we are and who we know, that we’ll look with condemning eyes on anybody who happens to be with us at the moment.” I encourage you to look for the good where you are and embrace it.

Let's take the gauntlet and make goodness attractive in this so-called next millennium. That's the real job that we have. I'm not talking about Pollyanna-ish kind of stuff. I'm talking about down-to-Earth actual goodness. People caring for each other in a myriad of ways rather than people knocking each other off all the time...What changes the world? The only thing that ever really changes the world is when somebody gets the idea that love can abound and can be shared.

Deep within us—no matter who we are—there lives a feeling of wanting to be lovable, of wanting to be the kind of person that others like to be with. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.

Most of us have so few moments like that in our lives. There’s noise everywhere. There are some places we can’t even escape it. Television and radio are probably the worst culprits. They are very seductive. It’s so tempting for some people to turn on the television set or the radio when they first walk into a room or get in the car… to fill any space with noise. I wonder what some people are afraid might happen in the silence. Some of us must have forgotten how nourishing silence can be. That kind of solitude goes by many names. It may be called “meditation” or “deep relaxation,” “quiet time” or “downtime.” In some circles, it may even be criticized as “daydreaming.” Whatever it’s called, it’s a time away from outside stimulation, during which inner turbulence can settle, and we have a chance to become more familiar with ourselves.

Fred's question: 'Dr. Orr, what is one little word that would wipe out evil?' 'Fred, it's 'forgiveness,' ' his mentor said without hesitation. 'The only thing that evil cannot stand is forgiveness. It simply disintegrates in the presence of forgiveness.

In order to express our sense of reality, we must use some kind of symbol: words or notes or shades of paint or television pictures or sculpted forms. None of those symbols or images can ever completely satisfy us because they can never be any more than what they are—a fragment of a reflection of what we feel reality to be.

FRED ROGERS ENTERED THE WORLD WITH A SERIOUS DISADVANTAGE, albeit a typical one: he was born a child.

Mister Rogers once said, “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.

It’s the people we love the most who can make us feel the gladdest . . . and the maddest! Love and anger are such a puzzle! It’s hard for us, as adults, to understand and manage our angry feelings toward parents, spouses, and children, or to keep their anger toward us in perspective. It’s a different kind of anger from the kind we may feel toward strangers because it is so deeply intertwined with caring and attachment. If the day ever came when we were able to accept ourselves and our children exactly as we and they are, then, I believe, we would have come very close to an ultimate understanding of what “good” parenting means. It’s part of being human to fall short of that total acceptance—and often far short. But one of the most important gifts a parent can give a child is the gift of accepting that child’s uniqueness.

Practicing radical kindness reminds us of what is essential in our own lives: our families, our work, our friendships, our communities. It helps us see every man, woman, and child we meet the way Mister Rogers did: as individuals possessing great richness, as embodiments of love.

And indeed, Fred Rogers placed kindness at the root of all he said and did on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, a program that began in 1968, a time of social and cultural upheaval in the United States. With a contentious war being waged in Vietnam and violent clashes over civil rights at home, Mister Rogers treated all children and adults who tuned in to his show or who visited his make-believe neighborhood with tenderness, consideration, respect, patience, and empathy, and that’s something that could rightly be called radical or even revolutionary, in a period mired in discord. Kindness was at the root of all he did and said.

The best teacher in the world is somebody who loves what he or she does and just loves it in front of you.

I think that Fred felt that loved ones in heaven do help those they left behind. He once told me, 'I think of my mother and my dad, and they're both in heaven and have been for a long time, and I know that they still love me and they help me. I have friends who are in heaven, and I know that they inspire me to do all kinds of things in this life.

You can’t satisfy all the desires of those who ask, but you can translate some of the care you have inside of yourselves to action on the outside,” he told everyone one last time. “And that’s what really matters.

This is my major work in life,” Mister Rogers said in the spring of 1967. “I don’t want to do anything else. I just hope I can make more programs for educational television.

I have often said that Mister Rogers was a clear pool in which people could see themselves as they were, not muddied up by all the people who say you’re not good enough or there’s something wrong with you. He would reflect back their true value.

I believe that this world is short-lived: we’re here for a minute and then we’re gone. What we leave behind is what matters. Fred came here on a mission, and when he was all done, he packed up and left. I’m hoping that one day somebody will remember their experience with me and do good work in the world of the future.

My mother used to say, a long time ago, whenever there would be any real catastrophe . . . she would say, ‘Always look for the helpers. There will always be helpers—just on the sidelines.’ That’s why I think if news programs could make a conscious effort of showing rescue teams, of showing medical people—anybody who is coming into a place where there’s a tragedy, to be sure that they include that. Because if you look for the helpers, you’ll know that there’s hope.

Fred, you made this day a special day, just by being yourself. Always remember, there’s just one person in this whole world like you—and I like you just the way you are.

What a difference one person can make in the life of others.

Fred, it’s ‘forgiveness,’ ” his mentor said without hesitation. “The only thing that evil cannot stand is forgiveness. It simply disintegrates in the presence of forgiveness.

Try your best to make goodness attractive. That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given.

Their associations were what fascinated me,” he said. “After the first talk about certain things on television—the Incredible Hulk, Superman, and Robin, and all this—immediately they started to talk about [the nuclear reactor meltdown at] Three Mile Island, and the earthquakes in California, all kinds of things they had no control over. It gave me the greatest hint, really confirming what I already believed—that we put on the guise of being super in order to try to control things that we otherwise have no control over.

Fred Rogers didn’t ask “Was I a good person?” or “Will I go to heaven?” He asked something more theologically specific: Did I offer succor to the lowliest members of society? Even after a lifetime dedicated to caring for the powerless, he doubted that he had done enough. “If anyone is a sheep, you are,” Joanne assured him.

Sometimes, all it takes is one kind word to nourish another person. Think of the ripple effect that can be created when we nourish someone. One kind empathetic word has a wonderful way of turning into many.” ~Mister (Fred) Rogers “I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” ~Ettiene De Grellet

The best teacher in the world is somebody who loves what he or she does and just loves it in front of you.” When

The only thing that evil cannot stand is forgiveness. It simply disintegrates in the presence of forgiveness.” Orr

Her whole body shook as big, fat drops slid down her cheeks. Mortified, she covered her face as though she could hide her wailing. Strong arms enveloped her and Mitch pulled her close. She gave one thought to protest, and then sank into the warm, solid strength of his chest. He was big and broad, so different from what she was used to. The thought made her cry harder. She should push him away, but instead she curled closer. Needing him. She was the most wicked kind of woman. There’d be no escaping hell now. All those years of penance washed away by one night of rash behavior. Mitch kissed her temple, rubbing his hands over her bare skin. That he let her cry, and didn’t start lecturing her on emotional outbursts, made her want to crawl into him and never let go. He swayed them both, murmuring nonsense and tracing slow, soothing circles over her back. “Come on now, Princess. Tell me what’s wrong so I can help you.” She hiccupped into his shirt while she clung to him as though he were her life vest on a sinking ship. A great gush of air was followed by a hiccup. She blurted her very pressing and very embarrassing need. “I-I h-have to go to the b-b-bathroom.” The gentle sway stopped. A rumble in his chest was followed by a cough. He was trying not to laugh. The jerk. She sobbed harder: great heaping wails straight from the pit of her stomach. Now that she was on a roll, she keened pitifully, “A-and m-m-y f-feet hurt.” “It’s okay.” His tone was most definitely amused. “Why didn’t you go?” Now came the worst confession. “M-my dress i-is too b-big.” “Well, take it off.” Did he think she was an idiot? “I c-can’t get it off.” With a fresh batch of hysterics, her shoulders trembled as she buried her face in his T-shirt, now wet with tears. No one at the store had mentioned she’d need a crew of people to go to the bathroom, and now a stranger had to undress her. She hiccupped. They really should mention these kinds of details at the time of purchase. He ran his fingers down a million tiny buttons from the blades of her shoulders to the curve of her ass. “It’s okay. We can take care of this.” “B-but,” she cried. The thought almost unbearable. She was being tested. How was she supposed to be good when she had to disrobe in front of the most gorgeous man alive? “You’ll s-see me almost n-naked.” When he said nothing, fresh tears welled in her eyes. He probably thought she was propositioning him. Surely women threw themselves at him all the time. He rubbed her bare arms. “I’m thirty-four, Princess. I’ve seen a naked woman before.” “But you haven’t seen me.” No one had seen her—well, except Steve, but he hardly even counted. “I’m twenty-eight, and only one guy has seen me. And he isn’t like you. Why can’t you be someone else?” “Like who?” He trailed a path over her bare skin, creating a rush of tingles up and down her spine. She burrowed closer, some of her hysterics finally calming as his soothing but intoxicating presence worked its charm. “You’re not Mister Rogers, you know.” “You can trust me, Maddie. I won’t attack.” Ha!

What children probably need to hear most from us adults is that they can talk with us about anything and that we will do all we can to keep them safe in any scary time.

There are adults who are terribly threatened by my manner, because there's something within them...I may evoke something within them that's very tender that they never knew about and that may be very frightening to them. I think that people who put me down and feel they cannot stand that presentation of gentle masculinity have not dealt with that within themselves.

Acclaimed writer and thinker Madeleine L’Engle once noted, in her treatise on the spiritual rhythms of life, The Irrational Season, “Righteousness begins to reveal itself as that strength which is so secure that it can show itself as gentleness, and the only people who have this kind of righteousness are those who are integrated and do not suppress the dark side of themselves.