E
ven when we fall up the stairs we are making forward progress. Our
self-esteem may take a minor hit, but at least we are a few treads
further up the staircase from the bottom where we started. Falling
up, then, is a rather positive notion if we examine it from a certain
angle. Probably one of the best examples of this positive notion
comes from author and illustrator Shel Silverstein in his now-classic children’s
book, appropriately titled Falling Up.
I used to think that only Dr. Seuss could offer adult advice clothed in silly
children’s poems. Wrong. Mr. Silverstein nails it, too. Consider what he tells us
in the following excerpt from Falling Up, and then read the beginning of Romans
Chapter 7, also known as the “do-do verses”. Wildly different sources with basically the same message for all of us children!
“All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin’ In the Sun,
Talkin’ ‘Bout the Things
They Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda Done…
But All Those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All Ran Away and Hid
From One Little Did.”
Mr. Silverstein offers many truths disguised in silly rhymes throughout his body
of work, including The Giving Tree. Here’s another from Falling Up that speaks to
us of Truth as boldly as I hope the Spirit speaks within me, if only I would listen:
“There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
‘I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.’
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What’s right for you — just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.”
And here’s one last Silverstein quote from Every Thing on It, in honor of adop-
tive families. We often talk about the miracle of birth, and of course it is, but
there is another kind of miracle that happens when children without a home
find families to call their own. November is, after all, National Adoption Month:
“Yes, I’m adopted.
My folks were not blessed
With me in the usual way.
But they picked me,
They chose me
From all the rest,
Which is lots more than most kids can say.”
Whether falling back, down or up, here’s hoping that November brings
abundant blessings and reasons for yearlong thankfulness. And may I please not
succumb to the enticements of sugary confections and sticky procrastinations
that send me in no good direction!
SHEMAGAZINE.COM
NOVEMBER 2015
37