(This is going to get a little deep for some of you (Sister) and show my Existential side, but here goes. I love this book and if you figure out what character you most represent, it will make life a little bit easier. )
The what? Well let me go to Wikipedia (because I love it) and explain what Tao means first. Tao is a Chinese word meaning 'way', 'path', 'route', or sometimes more loosely, 'doctrine' or 'principle'. Ok with that information, what the hell is The Tao of Pooh? Only one of my favorite books of all time. Again, I will result to Wikipedia, because without it I would not be near as intelligent sounding as I really am…
Wikipedia defines The Tao of Pooh as a book written by Benjamin Hoff. The book is intended as an introduction to the eastern belief system of Taoism for westerners. It allegorically employs the fictional characters of A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories to explain the basic principles of philosophical Taoism. The book starts with a description of the “vinegar tasters,” which is an actual painting portraying the three great eastern thinkers, Confucius, the Buddha, and Laozi over a vat of vinegar. Each tasting the vinegar of "life," Confucius finds it sour, the Buddha finds it bitter, but Laozi, the traditional founder of Taoism, finds it satisfying. Thus stating that it will different for everyone! Oh boy, what is Taoism? YIKES, okay…it refers to a philosophical and religious tradition that has influenced the people of East Asia for more than 2,500 years.
Clear as mud yeah? Well it is if you open yourself up to it. In terms that may be easier for everyone to understand it is a book that explains all of the characters in the Pooh books and how they correlate with the philosophy of Taoism. Pooh’s way is strangely close to Taoism and A.A. Milne (Pooh author) said the books were never written for children in the first place. Basic Taoism is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from and working with whatever happens in everyday life. The natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness. Why did Hoff write it? I guess because he could. The book is phenomenal. It is a spiritual journey into oneself and learning which character you are and how it directly affects your everyday life.
Back in my other life, I used to get a massage a week. My massage therapist suggested this book when I was going through a rough time to help me “figure out who I was and how it was affecting my decisions every day.” And let me tell you. It did. And my personality is like, well, wait, let me explain what the characters represent and maybe you can guess what character I am and possibly figure out who you are through the process. With the help of Wikipedia and a totally fun website, www.just-pooh.com, here are the explanations.
POOH
One of the basic principles of Taoism is P’U; the Uncarved Block. The essence of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when the simplicity is changed. Pooh is the epitome of the Uncarved Block. When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block. Life is fun. With that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work, odd as that may appear to others at times. Pooh just is…and doesn’t overthink things.
One of the basic principles of Taoism is P’U; the Uncarved Block. The essence of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when the simplicity is changed. Pooh is the epitome of the Uncarved Block. When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block. Life is fun. With that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work, odd as that may appear to others at times. Pooh just is…and doesn’t overthink things.
PIGLET
Piglet is Pooh’s best friend and is very brave compared to his size and frame. He loves going on adventures, is quite fond of bright colors, balloons and he even likes blowing dandelions. The first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is “I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today.” With a stutter and an often timid disposition he often conquers his fear and seems to want to be brave. He doesn’t realize his size.
Piglet is Pooh’s best friend and is very brave compared to his size and frame. He loves going on adventures, is quite fond of bright colors, balloons and he even likes blowing dandelions. The first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is “I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today.” With a stutter and an often timid disposition he often conquers his fear and seems to want to be brave. He doesn’t realize his size.
RABBIT
Represents the Knowledge of Being Clever. Anyone who isn’t clever knows that those who complain about something (Eeyore) will have an attitude that gets in the way of things like wisdom and happiness and prevents any sort of real accomplishment in life. Cleverness has its limitations as well. Its mechanical judgments and clever remarks tend to prove inaccurate with passing time, because it doesn’t look very deeply into things to begin with. The thing that truly makes someone different, or unique, in fact, is something cleverness cannot really understand. In easier terms, he is pushy and makes his own decisions, is able to spell better compared to all the other animals. He is quite certain about the important things in his life. He loves organizing a plan and to lead group events, even if nothing gets done. He is unhappy if anyone disturbs or interrupts him while he is engaged in any kind of activity. If you ask me, he is overly complex.
Represents the Knowledge of Being Clever. Anyone who isn’t clever knows that those who complain about something (Eeyore) will have an attitude that gets in the way of things like wisdom and happiness and prevents any sort of real accomplishment in life. Cleverness has its limitations as well. Its mechanical judgments and clever remarks tend to prove inaccurate with passing time, because it doesn’t look very deeply into things to begin with. The thing that truly makes someone different, or unique, in fact, is something cleverness cannot really understand. In easier terms, he is pushy and makes his own decisions, is able to spell better compared to all the other animals. He is quite certain about the important things in his life. He loves organizing a plan and to lead group events, even if nothing gets done. He is unhappy if anyone disturbs or interrupts him while he is engaged in any kind of activity. If you ask me, he is overly complex.
OWL
Is the polar opposite of Pooh, the Knowledge for the sake of Appearing Wise, he studies Knowledge for the sake of Knowledge, and keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group, rather than working for the enlightenment of others. That way he can appear superior and will not likely be suspected of not knowing something. From his point of view it is practically a crime not to know everything. Sometimes his knowledge is a bit hard to understand because it doesn’t match up with our own experience. Isn’t the knowledge that comes from experience more valuable than the knowledge that doesn’t? Along with Rabbit he is considered to be one of the animals with brains, is always forthcoming in offering his advice, opinions and anecdotes irrespective of others wanting it.
Is the polar opposite of Pooh, the Knowledge for the sake of Appearing Wise, he studies Knowledge for the sake of Knowledge, and keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group, rather than working for the enlightenment of others. That way he can appear superior and will not likely be suspected of not knowing something. From his point of view it is practically a crime not to know everything. Sometimes his knowledge is a bit hard to understand because it doesn’t match up with our own experience. Isn’t the knowledge that comes from experience more valuable than the knowledge that doesn’t? Along with Rabbit he is considered to be one of the animals with brains, is always forthcoming in offering his advice, opinions and anecdotes irrespective of others wanting it.
EEYORE
He is a donkey who is intelligent but keeps to himself. He is extremely gloomy and has a bad habit of losing his tail a lot. He depends on his friends to find it for him. He particularly adores being noticed. His Knowledge is the Knowledge for the sake of complaining about something. As mentioned in Rabbit, his attitude gets in the way of wisdom and happiness and prevents any real accomplishment.
He is a donkey who is intelligent but keeps to himself. He is extremely gloomy and has a bad habit of losing his tail a lot. He depends on his friends to find it for him. He particularly adores being noticed. His Knowledge is the Knowledge for the sake of complaining about something. As mentioned in Rabbit, his attitude gets in the way of wisdom and happiness and prevents any real accomplishment.
TIGGER (Last but not least)
The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not. He doesn’t know his limitations which brings him a lot of trouble. He is always in an electrifying mood and loves to bounce. The wonderful thing about Tiggers (not only that they can do everything) or him rather, is that he is “the only one. “
The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not. He doesn’t know his limitations which brings him a lot of trouble. He is always in an electrifying mood and loves to bounce. The wonderful thing about Tiggers (not only that they can do everything) or him rather, is that he is “the only one. “
The bottom line, where the hell am I going with all of this?
"A fish can't whistle and neither can I." Coming from a wise mind, such a statement would mean, "I have certain limitations, I know what they are." Such a mind would act accordingly. There's nothing wrong with not being able to whistle, especially if you're a fish. But there can be lots of things wrong with blindly trying to do what you aren't designed for. Fish don't live in trees, and birds don't spend too much time underwater if they can help it. Unfortunately, some people - who always think they're smarter than fish and birds, somehow - aren't so wise, and end up causing big trouble for themselves and others.
That doesn't mean that we need to stop changing and improving. It just means that we need to recognize what is there. If you face the fact that you have weak muscles, say, then you can do the right things and eventually become strong. But if you ignore what is there and try to lift someone's car out of a ditch, what sort of condition will you be in after a while? And even if you have more muscle than anyone alive, you still can't push over a freight train. The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.
A saying from the area of Chinese medicine would be appropriate to mention here: "One disease, long life; no disease, short life." In other words, those who know what's wrong with them and take care of themselves accordingly will tend to live a lot longer than those who consider themselves perfectly healthy and neglect their weaknesses. So, in that sense at least, a Weakness of some sort can do you a big favor, if you acknowledge that it's there. The same goes for one's limitations. . . Once you face and understand your limitations, you can work with them, instead of having them work against you and get in your way, which is what they do when you ignore them, whether you realize it or not. And then you will find that, in many cases, your limitations can be your strengths.
That doesn't mean that we need to stop changing and improving. It just means that we need to recognize what is there. If you face the fact that you have weak muscles, say, then you can do the right things and eventually become strong. But if you ignore what is there and try to lift someone's car out of a ditch, what sort of condition will you be in after a while? And even if you have more muscle than anyone alive, you still can't push over a freight train. The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.
A saying from the area of Chinese medicine would be appropriate to mention here: "One disease, long life; no disease, short life." In other words, those who know what's wrong with them and take care of themselves accordingly will tend to live a lot longer than those who consider themselves perfectly healthy and neglect their weaknesses. So, in that sense at least, a Weakness of some sort can do you a big favor, if you acknowledge that it's there. The same goes for one's limitations. . . Once you face and understand your limitations, you can work with them, instead of having them work against you and get in your way, which is what they do when you ignore them, whether you realize it or not. And then you will find that, in many cases, your limitations can be your strengths.
The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff
Clear as mud right?
Now I want to go reread this book poolside today ;) You rock, Tiff! Amy
ReplyDeleteCould you help me find my tail please?
ReplyDeleteI think maybe I need to check this book out! :)
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