Lessons from Frederick

That Damn Mouse

I kept thinking about Frederick.

To be honest, I tried to write another article, but it was boring. And that damn mouse kept creeping into my head and clamoring for attention – insisting he had something to say to the house-bound about leadership and beauty and poetry.

Frederick is a classic children's book about a "chatty family of field mice" preparing for winter. When my kids were young, it was one of many books we would share at bedtime before they finally settled down and went to sleep.

The book was written in 1967 by Leo Lionni. Born in Amsterdam, Lionni learned to draw by making sketches at the iconic Rijksmuseum, home to great masters like Rembrandt, van Gogh, and Vermeer.

Here's a quick synopsis: Frederick is a member of a family of field mice. Anticipating winter, the family does what mice do: They all "gather corn and nuts and wheat and straw." All, that is, except Frederick. When the other mice ask Frederick why he isn't working, he says, "I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days," or "I gather colors . . . for winter is gray," or "I am gathering words, for the winter days are long and many, and we'll run out of things to say."

Nourishing the Spirit in Exile

So why has Frederick been whispering in my ear these past few weeks? Because, I suppose, like Frederick and his family, we've all entered a winter of sorts, forced into our hideaways amid our own metaphorical rocks.

Poets like Frederick understand these dangers. Meg Wheatley reminds us that exile historically has been used to punish and to break the human spirit. Similarly, says David Whyte, those deprived of community or meaning or a life "based on the soul's desires, have empty larders, and no fire in the hearth; they will starve if they are not fed something more nourishing."

Follow the Poets

I'm glad to have my own stockpile of words, for the days of quarantine are long, and I've exhausted things to say about on-line shopping, virtual meetings, and disinfection routines. So, following Frederick's gentle guidance, I pause and consider how my life has gone from logging airline miles to this unexpected homecoming.

As we step forward into an unknowable future, there will inevitably be dark days that threaten to crush our spirit, days when we will be called on as leaders to summon images of hope and humanity, and the words to help us remember who we are and what we stand for.

On those days, think of Frederick, climbing up on the rock, sending rays of sun and sharing the warmth of his imagination.