Dr. Seuss’ Grinch character is typically remembered only as the bad guy in the story. In fact, the term “Grinch” is often used an insult this time of year as it is thrown about to identify people who don’t have much holiday spirit. I want to flip your thinking on Mr. Grinch a little bit. There is no doubt that he is painted as the villain for the majority of the book as he looks down on the Who’s and aims to figure out how to destroy their holiday celebration, comes up with an elaborate plan and then puts that plan into place by stealing virtually everything in Whoville. However, in the final few pages of the story, the Grinch transforms. He realizes he was wrong about the Who’s (and has been for the past FIFTY-THREE years!). He had been lonely and stewed on his grudge for all that time, but in the end, he realizes his own misconceptions, he begins to see the entire world differently and realizes he had been wrong about the Who’s.
We all know people who are stubborn, resistant to change, and sometimes shut off others because of it. Perhaps we even look at the person in the mirror from time to time! We can become so blinded by our own thoughts, ideas, preferences, and wants and needs that we fail to consider someone else’s.
Another key component of the Grinch is that we don’t know his back story (though some movie versions of the tale of taken on the task of creating one). All we know is he somehow ended up lonely, living far away from everyone else and feeling like an outcast. In the end, he makes an effort to truly interact with the Who’s as he returns everything he took from them. When he takes that step, the Who’s welcome him whole heartedly, as he joins them for dinner and carves the roast beast!
I think that we have to recognize both the Grinch and the Who’s in ourselves and others and realize that our lives are truly transformation stories. We have to always be open to learning new things, listening to different ideas, meeting new people and allowing ourselves to be transformed by our own journeys. We need to be willing to welcome others who may be different and may have even been previously “outcast” from us. And the Grinch proves to us that it’s never too late to make that change!