Can Mr. Rogers help you in these days of stress?
(by Robert Schwarz, PsyD, DCEP) I don’t really know the answer to this, but if you want to find out, I recommend watching the movie “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers.
This movie was completely different than I expected. Mr. Rogers is actually not the main character. The main character, played by Mathew Rhys, is Lloyd Vogel, a jaded, cynical writer for Esquire magazine. Lloyd is a deeply unhappy man who is forced to do a piece about Mr. Rogers. Lloyd is determined to write a piece that will expose Mr. Rogers’ friendly persona as fake.
So we are taken on a journey of Lloyd’s healing through his contact with Mr. Rogers. We witness how Mr. Rogers embodies being present with Lloyd and many other people. If you ever wanted to see a perfect example of what it means to be present, you will see it again and again in this film.
“It’s a Beautiful day in the Neighborhood” is a perfect antidote to all of the anxiety and stress going on in the world at the moment. Your heart will fill and your faith in humanity will be restored.
Author
Robert Schwarz, PsyD, DCEP has been a licensed psychologist for 30 years. Bob has trained therapists internationally on trauma treatment, panic and anxiety, energy psychology. For the last 12 years Bob has served as executive director for the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology. He has organized over 25 conferences on energy psychology trauma treatment, Ericksonian hypnosis, brief therapy, that trained over 18,000 therapists. Bob also designed ACEP’s online program The Science of Energy Healing. He has authored 3 books: Tools for Transforming Trauma, PTSD: A Clinician’s Guide and We’re No fun Anymore as well as numerous articles and papers.
Photo by jameswheeler–5314099
