In the 1920s, A.A. Milne wrote several books and poems about Winnie-the-Pooh, a living teddy bear with friends who typified—with wit and poignancy—many of the qualities of us as humans. Recently a friend sent me 20 lessons gleaned from Winnie-the-Pooh, but I could not find the author. I include them here, with a comment here and there.
1. Piglet: ’’How do you spell ’love’?’’ Pooh: ’’You don’t spell it . . . you feel it.’’
We tend to spend far more time and energy analyzing and describing love than we do in the far more productive efforts of finding, trusting, feeling, and sharing it.
2. “You are braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think.”
Most of us were taught to believe that we are far less significant and loved than we are and could be. We can learn the truth, and it will make us free from those lies.
3. “The things that make me different are the things that make me.”
We try so diligently to be like other people, and in the process give up who we really are.
4. “If the person you are talking to does not appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in this ear.”
Or he has a piece of fluff—or barbed wire, or a hole—in his soul.
5. “If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.”
As important as finding and trusting Real Love, is remembering it. The love of others does not disappear when they are not near, just as the sun does not cease to exist when it descends below the horizon each night.
6. “As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen.’’
If we are not consumed by pain and fear, every human being is a potential adventure.
7. “Sometimes the smallest things take the most room in your heart.”
Love can fill our hearts entirely but occupy no physical space at all.
8. “Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.”
Well, Milne did pretty well overall, but there is no “caring too much.”
9. “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
In our rush to “get somewhere,” we often miss the entire journey.
10. “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.”
Feeling loved unconditionally is a supreme, inexpressible experience.
11. “Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
When we see people without fear, we can see the flower—sometimes deeply buried—in all of them.
12. “I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”
It is good that we can dream while awake.
13. “You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
The truly great experiences in life rarely sit in our laps. We have to exercise our faith, make our decisions, and move our feet.
14. “Promise me you’ll never forget me because if I thought you would, I’d never leave.”
Oh, how we like to matter—to be truly loved—in the life of another person.
15. “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
The exercise of force can make things happen for a moment or two, but it is love that sets in motion the feelings, beliefs, and actions of a lifetime—even generations.
16. “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.”
Life without love? Unthinkable.
17. “Love is taking a few steps backward, maybe even more . . . to give way to the happiness of the person you love.”
In order to love, we never give up who we are, but we certainly make significant adjustments in our attention and behavior.
18. “A day spent with you is my favorite day. So today is my new favorite day.”
Every day with love is the best day ever.
19. “No one can be sad when they have a balloon!”
Love elevates everything around us to its most glorious state: balloons, clouds, sunshine, rain, and people.
20. “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
We want to cling forever to each loving and happy moment. When we can’t, we can always create another one.
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