One Hundred Acres of Wisdom

When I was growing up, I loved the stories of Winnie the Pooh. Who could possibly not love that silly old bear? Pooh was a little naive and slow-witted. In fact, he was often referred to as a “bear of very little brain.” Nonetheless, Pooh had a depth of wisdom that perhaps he was not even aware. I love Pooh-isms like “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day!” “A hug is always the right size.” “Love is taking a few steps backward, maybe even more…to give way to the happiness of the person you love.” And, how about, “Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.” The other characters in the Pooh stories were just as wonderful. For some reason, I identified with Piglet. Piglet is generally timid, but he tries to be brave and on occasion conquers his fears. When Tigger entered the storyline, it was as if a piñata exploded! Tigger is always filled with great energy and optimism. Then there is Eeyore. Eeyore the donkey is just so loveably gloomy, cynical, and doubtful. His pessimistic outlook is revealed in an encounter with Piglet, who cheerfully wished him, “Good morning!” To which Eeyore responds, “Well, I suppose it is...for some.”

I suppose on some level we all have a little Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore in us. During this quarantine time, the goal is not to let our inner Eeyore dominate, right? I know it can be a challenge. Things look bleak right now. We are not sure when we can return to “normal,” or what normal will even look like when we do. Simply, not knowing itself is hard. The truth is friends, we do not have much control over the circumstances we currently find ourselves in, but we do have some control over how we respond. The apostle Paul says near the end of his letter to the church in Philippi, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).

Choose to think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise and you will find God’s peace! Choose to see, it’s not that we have a glass, which is half-full or half-empty. It’s that, at a time when our thirst may be great, we still have water to drink! Hey, even Eeyore said, “Could be worse. Not sure how, but it could be.”

Thanks for taking time to read my blog today. As Pooh once said, “Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So, today is my new favorite day.”

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