MisterMagooism

A philosophy "for all and none"

Mr. Magoo is a comical cartoon character -- an elderly, nearsighted, bald little man who often finds himself in dangerous situations due to his poor vision. Not only does he remain blissfully and candidly unaware of these predicaments, but he consistently mistakes them for the most common, harmless, innocent occurrences, thereby causing chaos but always ending up unharmed. All because he refuses to wear glasses. Perhaps I shouldn’t write in the present tense here, as they stopped making new Mr. Magoo cartoons long ago. 

I loved Mr. Magoo. I didn’t miss a single episode when I was a kid. It was aired on late Sunday mornings. They showed a trifecta of cartoons at that time: the Swedish “Vicky the Viking”, the Hungarian “Gustav”, and Mr. Magoo. All for a total running time long enough to keep us kids glued to the tv screen while Mom prepared the traditional big Sunday lunch. 

Mr. Magoo made me laugh. The way he talked, moved, dressed, squinted his eyes. The way he was always so sure of everything, because everything was always so straightforward. The way he managed to escape danger inadvertently and come out unscathed (without even realizing what he just went through). The way he laughed in the face of chaos. As a kid, I focused on the theatrical, comical side of Mr. Magoo. I liked to watch it to find out which new danger he’d unwittingly get himself into and how he’d involuntarily dodge it.

Time passed and life went on. And I became an adult and stopped watching cartoons and I never thought about or mentioned Mr. Magoo again. I still like cartoons (especially old school ones like the Flintstones), and I watched lots of them with my kids when they were little, but for my entire pre-kids adult life I didn’t. 

Then, one day, while talking with a friend, I heard myself saying I think you’re a little like Mr. Magoo. Like that, point-blank. I hadn’t watched an episode since I was, maybe, nine. But somehow, the idea of Mr. Magoo instantly resurfaced from the depths of my mind, where it’d been patiently waiting for decades to be retrieved at the first actionable chance. Who’s that? she asked. And I went on describing the character and his adventures, unintentionally starting the construction of a behavioral framework that I’ve been striving to live by ever since: MisterMagooism, the philosophy of Mr. Magoo. 

At its core, MisterMagooism is a philosophy of trust in the universe. As Mr. Magoo goes through life inadvertently dodging the dangers he’s candidly unaware of due to his poor vision, he seems guided by a force that magically makes everything fall into place. It’s not a matter of believing in the supernatural, in a deity that takes care of us. It’s a matter of unwittingly being part of a flow, of taking the road as it comes, of living a life of full acceptance.  

Granted, Mr. Magoo is a cartoon that’s supposed to make kids laugh; it’s the extremization of a certain reckless demeanor, of a certain seemingly idiotic conduct. All centered around a refusal to wear glasses. But metaphorically, those glasses have a profound meaning, they’re not a negligible detail. Through them, we see life as it’s largely meant to be seen: hazardous, complicated, risky, challenging. Without them, it’s as if we accepted to not care, as if we gave ourselves permission to unfocus and just go with the flow. As if we put ourselves in the hands of the universe, trusting that things, in the end, always come together. Through glasses, we freeze in front of the inescapable difficulties of life. Without them, we’re brave, positive, energetic, and free. 

In a world where we're bombarded with constant demands for clarity and precision, where we’re obsessed with warping our existences into what we want them to be, MisterMagooism invites us to let go of our need for control and perfection, and just accept what comes along. It encourages us to view life through no lens at all, to see the humor in our own missteps, the absurdity in our struggles, and the wonder in our everyday experiences.

This isn't about being reckless or careless, it doesn’t mean that we should get to the top of the Empire State Building and jump down, certain that we’ll fly. It's about navigating life with an open heart. About acknowledging that, sometimes, our lack of perfect vision can lead us to unexpected and delightful places we wouldn't have discovered otherwise. It’s about realizing that the belief that things always adjust, the trust in the universe, is a powerful force that we ourselves create. A mysterious, magical force that moves mountains.

After I ended my enthusiastic spiel on Mr. Magoo, my friend asked how come I watched cartoons at my age. I don’t, although I’d love to re-watch all Mr. Magoo episodes, I responded. I think my age was still in the single digit last time I watched one. She looked puzzled. It just came back to me, after so many years, by simply observing you live. She’s the beneficiary of the mysterious, magical force that makes her always find a parking spot in front of her house without even trying to look for one, find her lost keys (or any other item) where she directs her attention first, dodge dangers in a construction site when she inadvertently walks into it while lost reading a paperback, get where she wants/needs to get to in an unknown city without maps or directions. And more. Some call it luck. I call it the result of embracing MisterMagooism.

But here’s the thing: embracing MisterMagooism isn’t really a deliberate act. It’s not like getting up one morning, looking in the mirror, and declaring From now on, I’m going to embrace MisterMagooism. It doesn’t work like that. MisterMagooism is a mindset that naturally develops. Something you spontaneously fall into. How? I have no idea. But I guess a few things may help. First, you have to be a fan of Mr. Magoo. Second, you have to give yourself permission to navigate life without glasses. Third, you have to trust the universe.

And fourth, you have to be willing to laugh at life’s quirks and absurdities. 

Then, maybe, you could hope for a sprinkle of MisterMagooism over your life. I myself wish I were like Mr. Magoo, but I’m not even close. I wish I could navigate life's twists and turns with a twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face and a healthy ignorance of danger. I wish I could abandon myself in the arms of that mysterious, magical force that makes things always fall into place. In the grand comedy of existence, I wish I could be just a tiny bit like Mr. Magoo.

But I can’t.

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