Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Oh, the Places You'll Go!


Everyone my age grew up on Dr. Seuss. So yeah, if you only know him from the animated movies that come out - you're way younger than me!

Don't be fooled by the title of this seriocomic ode to success; it's not the 'Climb Every Mountain,' kid version. All journeys face perils, whether from indecision, from loneliness, or worst of all, from too much waiting. Seuss' message is simple but never sappy: life may be a 'Great Balancing Act,' but through it all 'There's fun to be done.

Dr. Seuss is one of my favorite children's writers, alongside Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling. Growing up and learning to read, stories such as The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Horton Hears A Who!, were my bookshelf favorites, shaping my creative imagination and expanding my vocabulary. I'd like to think of him as a children's philosopher, much like Paulo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle, or Deepak Chopra. The last book Dr. Seuss ever wrote was Oh, the Places You'll Go! which is more like an ode to life.



Here's a video that recently went viral made by Los Angeles-based photographer Tedshots, featuring a series of Burners reciting the entire story on camera, amidst the backdrop of the annual Burning Man festival at the Black Rock Desert.