When I am travelling (which I have done alot of this past month), I find it really hard to sleep in a different bed and dark scary place (I am afraid of the dark). So something that helps me sleep away from home is my ipod, I take it with me everywhere. I have a collection of over 6,000 songs, some movies, some tv shows, and several audio books. The thing that always helps me sleep, without fail is Peter Dennis's reading of Winnie the Pooh. It is perfect, soft British accent, soft outdoor back round sounds, and soft light flute music between books. I never get very far along, I think I may have once heard the third book! So what does this have to do with anything? Well I was listening to the introduction for the millionth time and some parts stood out for me and got me thinking.
"You can't be in London for long without going to the Zoo. There are some people who begin the Zoo at the beginning, called WAYIN, and walk as quickly as they can past every cage until they get to the one called WAYOUT, but the nicest people go straight to the animal they love the most, and stay there"
This made me start thinking about life, and how we can sometimes loose sight of things in life. How we can move along our lives quickly going from start to finish without ever stopping. And then there are some that know what they like and want and stay there awhile to enjoy their passions. I started to wonder what one I was, it has been awhile since I was at the zoo but the last time I went I was kind of the person who goes from start to finish but at the same time I also spent the whole day there and enjoyed each animal (my favorite was not at this particular zoo).
"I had written as far as this when Piglet looked up and said in his squeaky voice, "What about Me?" "My dear Piglet," I said, "the whole book is about you." "So it is about Pooh," he squeaked. You see what it is. He is jealous because he thinks Pooh is having a Grand Introduction all to himself. Pooh is the favourite, of course, there's no denying it, but Piglet comes in for a good many things which Pooh misses; because you can't take Pooh to school without everybody knowing it, but Piglet is so small that he slips into a pocket, where it is very comforting to feel him when you are not quite sure whether twice seven is twelve or twenty-two. Sometimes he slips out and has a good look in the ink-pot, and in this way he has got more education than Pooh, but Pooh doesn't mind. Some have brains, and some haven't, he says, and there it is. And now all the others are saying, "What about Us?" So perhaps the best thing to do is to stop writing Introductions and get on with the book."
I thought of friends with this paragraph. When we are kids we have lots of toys and each seemingly has a purpose and time to be our favorites. I thought about how these are our first friends, how we start making connections to different personalities and find use for different types of friends in these small make believe groups. We have friends that are our long time friends, that seemingly know us best and with whom we have many adventures and memories, our Winnie the Pooh friends. We have our friends that are school friends, they help us with homework or studying and make us feel better if we may not know the answer all the time, our Piglet friends. Then there is the rest, the nervous hard working Rabbit friends, the sad but true Eeyore friends, and our bouncing off the walls party have a good time Tigger friends.
I may take alot of grief over the fact that I read Winnie the Pooh (and yes I do have the books and I have read them, it isn't just that I listen to them) but I have always loved the stories of a little boy who loves his toys. They are my fall back books, if ever I can't choose what to read I start them again, and always enjoy them. I think that we can find so much in the pages of childhood books. They are the books we start with and learn from, I think that no matter how old we are we can still learn from these books. If you haven't had the chance to read these books, take some time now. Maybe use it as a family story time book. A A Milne always felt that his stories were not just intended for children.
"You can't be in London for long without going to the Zoo. There are some people who begin the Zoo at the beginning, called WAYIN, and walk as quickly as they can past every cage until they get to the one called WAYOUT, but the nicest people go straight to the animal they love the most, and stay there"
This made me start thinking about life, and how we can sometimes loose sight of things in life. How we can move along our lives quickly going from start to finish without ever stopping. And then there are some that know what they like and want and stay there awhile to enjoy their passions. I started to wonder what one I was, it has been awhile since I was at the zoo but the last time I went I was kind of the person who goes from start to finish but at the same time I also spent the whole day there and enjoyed each animal (my favorite was not at this particular zoo).
"I had written as far as this when Piglet looked up and said in his squeaky voice, "What about Me?" "My dear Piglet," I said, "the whole book is about you." "So it is about Pooh," he squeaked. You see what it is. He is jealous because he thinks Pooh is having a Grand Introduction all to himself. Pooh is the favourite, of course, there's no denying it, but Piglet comes in for a good many things which Pooh misses; because you can't take Pooh to school without everybody knowing it, but Piglet is so small that he slips into a pocket, where it is very comforting to feel him when you are not quite sure whether twice seven is twelve or twenty-two. Sometimes he slips out and has a good look in the ink-pot, and in this way he has got more education than Pooh, but Pooh doesn't mind. Some have brains, and some haven't, he says, and there it is. And now all the others are saying, "What about Us?" So perhaps the best thing to do is to stop writing Introductions and get on with the book."
I thought of friends with this paragraph. When we are kids we have lots of toys and each seemingly has a purpose and time to be our favorites. I thought about how these are our first friends, how we start making connections to different personalities and find use for different types of friends in these small make believe groups. We have friends that are our long time friends, that seemingly know us best and with whom we have many adventures and memories, our Winnie the Pooh friends. We have our friends that are school friends, they help us with homework or studying and make us feel better if we may not know the answer all the time, our Piglet friends. Then there is the rest, the nervous hard working Rabbit friends, the sad but true Eeyore friends, and our bouncing off the walls party have a good time Tigger friends.
I may take alot of grief over the fact that I read Winnie the Pooh (and yes I do have the books and I have read them, it isn't just that I listen to them) but I have always loved the stories of a little boy who loves his toys. They are my fall back books, if ever I can't choose what to read I start them again, and always enjoy them. I think that we can find so much in the pages of childhood books. They are the books we start with and learn from, I think that no matter how old we are we can still learn from these books. If you haven't had the chance to read these books, take some time now. Maybe use it as a family story time book. A A Milne always felt that his stories were not just intended for children.
No comments:
Post a Comment