Today, I was lying in bed, looking at my bookcase. I have such a collection; chemistry books, anatomy and physiology books, statistics, the list goes on and on. But at the bottom, I noticed many of the books from my childhood. I crawled to the end of the bed and started pulling them off the shelves and flipping through them.
I am twenty years old, so I thought this was silly for me to do. I don’t need to be reading Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein, but I wanted to, and I did!
I realized just how much we learned from those childhood books, which are still relevant today. Here are my top ten life lessons from my childhood collection:
1. "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." ("The Lion and the Mouse")
2. "Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be courageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable." ("Matilda")
3. “What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favorite day,” said Pooh. ("The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh")
4. "Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light." ("Harry Potter")
5. "You have been my friend, that in itself is a tremendous thing." ("Charlotte’s Web")
6. "Don’t try to comprehend with your mind. Your mind is limited. Use your intuition." ("A Wrinkle in Time")
7. "You’ve had the power all along, my dear." ("The Wizard of Oz")
8. "Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places." ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory")
9. "Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." ("Alice in Wonderland")
10. "Listen to the mustn’ts child, listen to the don’ts, listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts, listen to the never haves then listen close to me, anything can happen, child, anything can be." ("Shel Silverstein")
And just because a list of life lessons is never complete without Dr. Seuss...
11. "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."
Next time you are feeling like you need some advice, don't be afraid to go back to some of your favorite childhood reads. They got you to where you are today and will no doubt be just as useful now!
