A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is like an adult version of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Mr. Rogers’ TV show helped to teach kids lessons about their feelings and be more connected and compassionate, and A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood helps adults see some big issues in a different light and how important it is to deal with your feelings in regards to those issues. It was a great movie from beginning to end. It had all the familiar sets that Mister Rogers’ had and allowed you to see Mr. Rogers in a light that we never got to see him in as kids. And, Tom Hanks nailed the character and the compassion, gentleness, and wisdom that Mr. Rogers carried with him. Here are 7 quotes from A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood that I really resonated with.
1. Words Matter
Sometimes we get to change a broken world with our words. – Lloyd Vogel
One of the main characters in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is Lloyd Vogel. He is a writer for a magazine and giving a speech he said this quote in regards to why writers write for magazines. It struck me as so important for people to understand.
During the time that A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is set in, social media wasn’t a thing. But now we are constantly being bombarded with words, both good and bad, that have the power to change a broken world in a positive way or make it worse.
It’s very important that when you write words that others can read, you aim to change a broken world for the better.
I think it’s also important to read things that can help you change a broken world for the better. Don’t read things that make you feel horrible and helpless in this world. Read empowering words that can help you see things in a new, positive light and give you the motivation and desire to do good things in this world.
2. A Lesson On Being Human
If you want to talk to me, I should want to talk to you. – Mr. Rogers
I love this quote from Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. He says it when he phones Lloyd Vogel for an interview and wants to talk to him.
The lesson I took from it is that we should care enough to connect with the people who care enough to connect with us.
For example, if someone walking down the street wants to talk to you, there are three options – ignore them, tell them not today, or talk to them. If they care enough to reach out to us, shouldn’t we care enough to reach out too? Isn’t that a decent human thing to do? Shouldn’t we show our fellow humans that they matter to us?
3. The Lessons We Teach Our Children Should Reflect Reality
Children need to know that even when adults make plans they don’t turn out the way we hoped. – Mr. Rogers
Mr. Rogers said this in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood after he struggled to set up a tent on his set while being filmed for a show. Lloyd couldn’t understand why he struggled so much and Mr. Rogers said that kids need to know that plans don’t turn out the way we hoped.
A lot of adults like to make kids think that they have everything under control. But, the fact is that kids are going to be adults one day and they are going to find out all these little truths that have been kept from them.
We should be teaching our kids to be ready for reality and find ways to calmly deal with issues that come up because they will – a lot.
4. A Big Lesson For Adults
A child is appreciated for what he will be and not for what he is. – Mr. Rogers
Isn’t this a big truth from A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood?
We imagine our kids being successful, married and having children, but that’s all made up fantasy from our heads. We don’t actually know how our kids are going to turn out. So why not be present and appreciate kids for what they are, right now?
By the way, the Conscious Parenting quest teaches this lesson very well and helps you figure out how to do this and deal with your disappointments and your kid’s disappointments.
5. Even Mr. Rogers Got Upset
There’s no normal life that’s free from pain. – Mr. Rogers
A lot of us tend to remember Mr. Rogers as perfect. But, the thing is that even he dealt with pain and upset. In A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, he says that he releases it through praying, swimming, and banging on the lower keys of the piano.
It’s a beautiful message that to have pain is to be human and there’s nothing wrong with you if you are feeling down or upset or angry. You just need to find constructive ways to release it so that you can go on about your day and get back to it.
6. Mr. Rogers Was a Vegetarian
I just can’t imagine eating anything with a mother. – Mr. Rogers
I didn’t know this, but I was happy to hear this quote in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood.
Mr. Rogers and Lloyd Vogel were sitting down and Mr. Rogers was eating vegetarian food. When asked if he was a vegetarian, he said this quote and made me very happy with how he said it. It is so in line with Mr. Rogers and the message he sent and the energy he gave off.
7. Death Is Manageable
To die is to be human, and anything human is mentionable, and anything mentionable is manageable. – Mr. Rogers
Mr. Rogers said this in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood when everyone in a room became uncomfortable about the fact that Llyod Vogel’s father was dying.
It’s such a beautiful quote.
We can talk about anything to do with being human because it affects us all, and anything that can be talked about can be endured and survived. In fact, talking things through can help us manage all those things that sometimes feel unmanageable.
