Five Great Life Lessons Shel Silverstein Taught Us

There is something magical about the written word. It can be funny, memorable and so poignant that it can change your life. This is especially true of words written by children’s writer Shel Silverstein. The simplest words are often spoken to children, while adults often put too much thought and emphasis on words spoken to one another. However, it’s often the simplest words we need to hear as adults. Read on to find out the best life lessons we ever learned from Shel Silverstein.

The Importance of Sometimes Saying No

“The Yesees said yes to anything that anyone suggested. The Noees said no to everything unless it was proven and tested. So the Yessees all died of much too much and the Noees all died of fright. But somehow I think the Thinkforyourselfees all came out all right,” from The Yesees and the Noees. This line teaches us that it’s important to think for yourself, sometimes saying yes and sometimes saying no, but always doing what’s right for you.

To Live a Good Life

“How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ‘em,” from “How Many, How Much,” taught us the importance of living a life that’s good and well. The only way that you’ll find good in a day or have a great day is to live a great day, not wait for the day to be great. You have to make it great on your own.

How to Trust Your Gut

“No teacher, preacher, parent, friend or wise man can decide what’s right for you – just listen to the voice that speaks inside,” from “The Voice,” teaches us that sometimes we have to just trust our gut no matter what anyone else says. It’s a lesson that says we know what’s best for us and that while the opinions of others are nice, it’s our own decision that makes things right in the long run.

That Anything is Possible

“Anything can happen, child. Anything can be,” is something Shel Silverstein said that we can learn from. Absolutely anything is possible, this is absolutely true. You can be anything, do anything, pray for anything and expect anything; because anything can happen at any time.

How to Live Life to the Fullest

“Talked my head off, worked my tail off, cried my eyes out, walked my feet off, sang my heart out. So you see, there’s really not much left of me,” is a wonderful quote. This quote leaves us with the notion that living life to the fullest is important. At the end of our lives, we don’t want to have anything left. We want to be able to look back on our lives and realize we used up all that we had and made the most of everything we did.

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