In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, I would like to take the opportunity to talk about my favorite Dr. Seuss book of all time... the Sneetches.
This children's book provides an important lesson that not only kids but adults need to learn and be reminded of continually. Regardless of what the outside looks like, we're all pretty much the same on the inside. Comparing ourselves to others by appearance or other attributes will generally lead to unpleasant results as we try to measure up to others. This is such a common problem that I see and struggle with on a daily basis. We look at someone and say "oh, she's thinner than I am" or "oh, why can't I look like him?" but as the former lead singer for the Smiths, Morrissey, points out in his fabulous song "Do Your Best and Don't Worry" we tend to "see the best of how they look against the worst of how [we] are" and we really have no idea what is going on behind the perfect outfit, perfect body, and perfect hair.
Dr. Seuss manages to encapsulate the folly of comparison by using the devious McBean to steal all of the Sneetches' money as he helps them look like everyone else--stars on, stars off, stars on again--leaving once all of their money is gone and the result is that none of the Sneetches can tell who was who at the start and showing them that whether they had "stars upon thars" or not didn't matter at all.
Let's keep this important message in mind today and every day. We're all different. Some of us have stars, some of us do not. Dare to be different and, as Morrissey reminds us: "just do your best and don't worry."
To order a copy of Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches: http://smile.amazon.com/Sneetches-Other-Stories-Dr-Seuss-ebook/dp/B00ESF28YY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425406013&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sneeches
To listen to Morrissey's "Do Your Best and Don't Worry" visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtWvSs1PIPE