This morning, I watched the video of when Fred Rogers was inducted into the TV Critics Television Hall of Fame in 1999. In the video, the adult Jeff Erlanger—the same little boy who visited Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to talk about life in his wheelchair in 1981—came to surprise Mr. Rogers on the stage. I remember seeing that episode at some point in my life, and I recently watched it again. I loved one powerful moment in Mr. Rogers’ speech. He asks: “How do we make goodness attractive? By doing whatever we can to bring courage to those whose lives move near our own, by treating our neighbor at least as well as we treat ourselves, and allowing that to inform everything. . .”
These words challenge me to discover in what area of life those around me need courage, and then to help foster that courage. It’s actually another wonderful conversation and community building question to ask, “What’s requiring the most courage in your life right now? How can I help?”