The Tao of Pooh is a delightful, allegorical recipe for living a happy life. It is an animation of how a Taoist philosophy is applied to daily situations using the supporting characters of the Hundred Acre Woods, ie Owl, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Roo, Kanga, Christopher Robbin, etc. It is seen in Pooh’s interactions with the thinkers, the chronic complainers, the pessimists, the aggrandizers who don’t know their limitations, the anxious and fearful, the quick-retorters, the know-it-alls, the pontificators, etc. The funny things about the personalities of the characters is that, we can easily recognize some of personality traits in ourselves or others that we interact with. Thus showing that art imitates life.
In the Tao of Pooh, it displays Pooh as simpleminded because he sees/approaches things from a clear mind. By no means is he a simpleton or a dunce. He is simple like a child. Children are inquisitive, open-minded, and playful. It is for that reason that master teacher, Yashua ben Yosef said in Matthew 18:3, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (enlightenment). Pooh lives in the present moment. He is compassionate, grateful, and humble.
Pooh constantly operates in his humility, which is the reason things seem to always work out for him. It reinforces the aphorism that until we empty our cup, we cannot see the light (enlightenment) of day. Pooh sees the good in everything. Everyday is Pooh’s favorite day, which a great reminder for us all. For we are told that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but the present is a gift. Pooh is thoughtful, being that he takes the time to go check on his friends. Pooh’s visits are an anomaly given the paradigm that we leave in, where people are more inclined to connect digitally with others rather than making the effort to go seem them physically.
Reading the Tao of Pooh is analogous to standing in a jewelry store, with the following being some of the pearls I was able to garner while in its presence:
The world is not a setter of traps, but a teacher of valuable lessons.
Happiness in the natural results of a harmonious way of living.
Taoism emphasizes non-interference, where sourness and bitterness come form the interfering and unappreciative mind.
Things in their original simplicity have their own natural power.
One of the important principles of Taoism is the Uncarved Block, which represents things in their natural state.
A negative attitude gets in the way of things like wisdom and happiness, and pretty much prevents any sort of real accomplishment in life.
Eeyore always expected things to fail, which they usually did. It was a great example that we attract what we constantly dwell on. For as a man thinks in his heart so is he.
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.
From the state of the Uncarved Block comes the ability to enjoy the simple and quiet, to do things spontaneously and have them work.
Chapter 81 of the Tao Te Ching says that wise are not learned and learned are not wise. There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. We live in a time, where many are egotistical. They have to always be right. They walk around with a plethora of facts and preconceived notions. They blindly wear their egotistical knowledge like it is a badge of honor. They carry themselves in such a way to appear/sound intelligent and to be accepted into certain pompous/pretentious circles. Their possession of knowledge is not enlighten others. I call them the withholders and gatekeepers of society. However, wisdom is the ability to apply the knowledge you’ve acquired to make yours or the life of another better. It complements 2 Corinthians 3:6 of the Bible, where it says the letter (fact holders and rigid adherers of knowledge) killeth, but the spirit (wisdom) giveth life.
Everything is connected. So instead of attempting to compartmentalize everything and break them down into disparate pieces, learn to see things wholistically.
Book knowledge is like a black and white picture. However, living and experiencing things is like seeing that same picture animated on a HD television.
Struggling over relatively unimportant matters can make one rather confused
One who is impulsive and a quick-retorter, often does not see the big picture
Compassion is having tolerance and being able to accept others’ differences. It is understanding that variety is the spice of life.
Cleverness has its limitations. 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.
Chapter 65 of the Tao Te Ching says, For why are the people hard to govern? Because they are too clever! They have knowledge and information. They seem to have all the answers, but can’t solve their own problems or chaos. You can’t tell them anything because they think they know everything.
Inner Nature is thing that makes us all unique.
Things are as they are.
You can find something useful/positive in everything. When people think something is useless it is because they want to make it into something else and don not use it in its proper way. When you don’t understand the purpose of thing, you will abuse it.
Everything has it own place and function.
When you know and respect your own Inner Nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don’t belong. This is why the ancients admonished us, Man/Woman know thyself!
The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.
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 you do when you ignore them. Its part of recognizing your Inner Nature and working with Things As They Are.
Work with the gifts that you have
One who has little understanding of themselves, have little respect for themselves, and are therefore easily influenced by others.
The Taoist approach to addressing things that we don’t like about ourselves is to change them into other things, or to use them in beneficial ways. This is blending with the situation or yielding to it instead approaching in a head-on conflict. Chapter 22 of Tao Te Ching says Yield and Overcome, Blend and be straight.
Never overcome force with force, instead its overcome with yielding.
I learned this lesson first-hand one night in Jujitsu class in 2014. A seventeen-year-old kid threw a right haymaker punch at me. I could have attempted to retreat, but I wasn’t moving fast enough and ran a serious risk of getting hit in my jaw. Instead I chose to step into my assailant (yield to the attack, blend with him), raised my left guard up to protect my head, blocked/absorbed the blow, turning into him, I grabbed his left wrist with my left hand, put my right arm under his left armpit, squatted and turned, and threw him over my shoulder, thus learning that those who conquer do so through yielding.
There is no such thing as an ability that is too useless, too crooked, or too small. Small things when done consistently or aggregated over time become big/major/significant. Chapter 64 of Tao Te Ching says, A tree the width of man’s embrace starts as a small shoot, a terrace nine stories high starts a single heap of earth, The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Each of us has something Special
The Wise are Who They Are. They work with what they’ve got and do what they can do. My mother always says, do the best you can.
The Tao emphasizes Wu Wei, which means non-interference, not striving, not forcing things, not being combative, or resorting egotistical effort. It teaches not going against the nature of things; no clever tampering; not manipulating things in our favor.
When you try too hard, things don’t work.
The surest way to become tense, awkward, and confused is to develop a mind that tries too hard or one that thinks too much.
Now days we are distracted. We believe that we can “multitask”, where we’re thinking about everything except the task that we’re currently working. This is why people drive fast down the street, thinking about being at the store, going over their grocery list. Then they wonder why accidents occur.
Relax your mind. Don’t overthink things. Allow them to come to you.
Live in the present moment.
Everything adheres to rhythm. Everything has its season. Things happen the right way, at the right time, when we let them.
Using Wu Wei, you go by circumstances and listen to your own intuition. Its only strange when you don’t listen to it.
Wu Wei overcomes force by neutralizing its power, rather than adding to the conflict. For where there are no coals, the fire goes out.
This society is overly consumed with work. People always seem to be running somewhere. However, we should never be so busy that we can’t greet or have a simple conversation with another person. For it is a sure sign that we no longer see each other’s humanity. We have become what Benjamin Hoff labels, a Bisy (Busy) Backson.
We have been convinced that we have to continuously chase great rewards, whether they’re in the sky, around the corner, behind the next molecule, in the executive suite. By doing so we miss enjoying the present moment. We forget to enjoy the beauty of life. We misunderstand that life is about the anticipation of the reward and the journey, instead of the destination. Thinking is such a fashion is a form of working against the natural order of things.
Enjoy the present by enjoying the process.
Music and living aren’t all that different. When we harmonize with, are flexible, or blend with things, they seem to work out beautifully.
When you cannot find peace within yourself, you definitely won’t engage others in peace. As within, so without.
Real progress involves growing and developing, which means changing on the inside.
Take time to sit or be still, empty your mind , find your inner quiet, and hear the Inner Voice. Like Psalms 46:10 says, be still and know that I AM God.
It’s the processes that we undergo that are important, and enjoyment of the process is the secret that erases the myths of the great reward.
Be grateful.
Get out and enjoy your surroundings and being alive.
Everyone is special.
No matter how useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value.
Comparison is the thief of all joy.
Use and believe in the power that is within us. The Creator/Infinite Intelligence is within. The kingdom of heaven is within.
Believe in yourself. Take a chance. Discover what you have to contribute to humanity.
The things we need are there already there ; all we need to do is make use of them. This reminds me of how the word education is derived from the Latin word, educare, which means to draw out that which is within.
Be compassionate. Be caring. For those who have no compassion have no wisdom. Knowledge, yes; cleverness, maybe; wisdom, no.
If you want to be happy, you begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you’ve got.
Tao Te Ching Chapter 48 says, To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things everyday. Empty yourself. Humble yourself.
The Tao of Pooh is a little book with myriads of insights that can uplift and change one’s perspective on life. I highly recommend picking up this book. To do so is to return to the beginning, and become like a child again. Remember that the tree that is unbending is easily broken. So be flexible, approach this work as a Taoist would, one page at a time, and you most certainly won’t regret it.
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From the Publisher
A beautiful collection of adult gift books that showcase the warmth and wit of Milne's words and Shepards illustrations.
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Learn about the principles of Taoism with Pooh or the principle of Te through Piglet.
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Whether you're a pessimist, a food lover or simply philosophically inclined, these are the perfect books to collect and enjoy!
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Una joya introductoria al taoismo.
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