Life’s been getting a bit too serious recently, wouldn’t you agree? So, instead of discussing elections, politics, terrorism, climate change or the daily dose of impending peril that United States President Donald Trump brings for the world as we know it, I’m going to take a look at something completely different.
No matter what happens in the big world, nothing is more grounding than sitting and watching Winnie the Pooh with my niece and nephew. The pleasant, little yellow bear that gets up to all sorts of trouble, yet somehow manages to find the right way and contentment in his own world. We could all learn a thing or two from the simple bear and his love of honey. Ridding ourselves of all the millions of little thoughts that plague us every day is the best thing we can do to bring some peace into our lives.
“Rabbit’s clever”, said Pooh thoughtfully.
“Yes”, said Piglet, “Rabbit’s clever”.
“And he has Brain”.
“Yes”, said Piglet, “Rabbit has Brain”.
There was a long silence.
“I suppose”, said Pooh, “that that’s why he doesn’t understand anything.”
There is a lovely little book that I read a few years ago and which I discovered again only recently (perhaps the universe is being kind to me in these days of global confusion). It combines the teachings of Winne the Pooh with those of Taoism, the philosophical teachings that were developed in China thousands of years ago. You might be thinking that it sounds crazy to compare the adventures or a little fictional bear to Taoism, and so did I, until I began to read it. And now it seems like the perfect time to begin reading again and try to learn a few more lessons from Winnie the Pooh. After all, simplicity is a state of mind that I have found myself craving for all too often.
We can be too clever for our own good. An example of this, purely my own musings, may be social media. Technology has brought us some amazing realisations in life and thrust humanity to a place of advanced wonder. Yet, the cacophony of views, opinions, facts and fairytales that we are subjected to constantly is a somewhat ominous by-product of this ingenuity. The search for peace can be a long and difficult road, made even more arduous by our smartphones and the various screens that have invaded our lives. There will always be crises and chaos in the world, problems and people who bring stress and strife. We can poke our heads out into the world and get swept away if we are not careful to anchor ourselves to something we believe in. And remind ourselves of the beauty in simplicity.
Like enjoying a taste of honey.
““What do you like doing best in the world, Pooh?”
“Well”, said Pooh, “What I like best ...” and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.”
Perhaps the space between wanting and getting, is the place where happiness lies. The little bear teaches us that the simple things are what makes life worth living, but the little spaces we live for before we reach our goals is, in a sense, transcendental. Maybe this is why we are always craving something, but we don’t see that it’s these space that we are really striving for, and ultimately, this is what life is about. I guess this is what these ancient Chinese philosophies are always trying to teach us. But maybe we should all be a bit more like Pooh.
Christina Curran is a journalist currently studying a Masters in International Relations at Queen’s University, Belfast.