Winnie the Pooh and me

Recently, I met quite a few trainees who despite their success in life and rich experience, felt insecure and had low self-esteem. They felt compelled to please others, invented false failures and eliminated successes, and felt dissatisfaction with their workplace, occupation, appearance, relationships, etc. In this context I thought to myself, I wish we could sometimes be Winnie the Pooh ….

So how does this relate?

Following Dr. Haim Shapira’s entertaining lecture on the philosophy of Winnie the Pooh, I remembered that I had never actually read this book, even though it was the first book I had ever. How could this be?

Well, when I was in first grade, the teacher told the parents that the children should enroll in a library since it would help them develop. Teachers received a great deal of respect back then, so what a teacher asked the parents to do, they did in reverence, and my parents enrolled me in the school library. I was a relatively new immigrant, I did not really understand Hebrew, and I remember the great excitement when I went with my mother to sign up for the “Borochov” Library in Kiryat-Yam and the very long line of children standing outside to come in and pick up a book. Looks like a hallucinatory sight from a fictional movie in today’s terms.

Anyway, the first book the librarian let me read was “Winnie the Pooh.” I was already in school for a few months, and I knew how to read the syllables … I read the book to the end (because that’s what the teacher asked me to do) but I didn’t really understand most of the words and especially the sentences. What I did understand, with the help of the illustrations in the book, was that in the book the animals were talking , and that didn’t make sense, I told myself, so this must be a bad book, and I asked for a slightly better book …

About two weeks ago I celebrated a housewarming, and my sister asked me “what would you like to have as a present? I asked for the book “Winnie the Pooh” – it’s time to understand what the animals were talking about (-:

So here is a reminder of the meeting of Winnie the Pooh and his rabbit friend, a meeting that reminds us that life is sometimes how we interpret it, and we can certainly practice how to interpret it, so that it will work well for us and ’pooh’ away all those inhibiting and useless thoughts.

Pooh went to visit his friend the rabbit who lived in the cave, knocked on the door and was invited in, He was then pushed and pushed through the opening of the hole until he was able to get in. The rabbit was happy, because he really liked his friend Pooh, and went to get coffee and sweets to honor him.

– What would you like on the bread Winnie, honey or milk jam?

– both ..and so that the rabbit  does not think he is a gluttoner, he added “you can forego the bread” ..After he said this, and the rabbit served him “both and both” there was silence from the direction of Pooh for a long time ….

After Pooh had consumed everything, he got up and happily continued on his way

Go his way happy and kind-hearted

– Bye, my dear rabbit, I have to move

– You have? Asked the polite rabbit

– It seems to me yes, its already starting to be late

– Well, if you’re sure you do not want more …

– What, is there more???? Pooh is surprised and is already considering staying just a little longer …

– no there is not…

– This is what I thought … So it seems to me that I should leave, says Pooh and goes to the door, crawls, the head and hands are already out and oops …. he gets stuck …. he pushes and pushes back and forth, nothing moves, the rabbit tries to help him but, there is nothing he can do, he is stuck tight!!!

And now, looking for someone to blame, came the ingenius sentence:

“It’s all because there are those who do not make large enough entrances”

Not even one millimeter of Pooh’s self-love budged, no feelings of guilt, no self-criticism, he is not guilty that the opening is not big enough.

And so for a week he was stuck with half his body out of the hole and half of it inside the hole, a week in which he did not eat to lose weight, but even then one can be useful

– If you’re already stuck here and taking up so much space in my house, says the rabbit, do you mind if I use your feet to hang my towels on them to dry, you have nothing to do with them (feet) anyway

– Make yourself at home my brother, you can even hang your underwear… hang whatever you want (-:

And this book is full of amusing encounters and “different” thinking, a combination of innocence and wisdom.

And we can practice this, shed inhibiting thoughts and give a new interpretation to situations in life, one that will ’pooh’ away everything that stops us from fulfilling ourselves.

Do “pooh” like the 2 sweet girls I photographed in Antigua, Guatemala, and what fun it is to have someone who will applaud you and always be on your side.