A Poignant Message from Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin Movie

Posted by Barbara Techel

A Poignant Message from Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin Movie

When my dear friend shared with me the movie trailer for Christopher Robin as we celebrated our birthdays a few weeks ago, I just knew I’d have to see it.  And lucky me, she wanted to see it also.

I’m still relishing in the sweetness and fun we shared together which included a big bucket of popcorn between us as we gently and willingly tumbled back to our childhoods as Christopher Robin and the gang came onto the big screen.

How can one not love a yellow bear in a red mid-drift sweater, the gloom and doom of the oh-so-lovable Eeyore, the adorable Piglet, and the enthusiasm of Tigger?  I can never say Tigger without spelling it out and hearing it in my mind just like Tigger actually says it when introducing himself, T-I-double Ga-er!

The movie begins with a bit of background of the young Christopher Robin playing with his friends in the place many of us came to love, Hundred Acre Woods. I loved how the film depicted the flipping of pages of a book and a timeline of Christopher Robin’s life to the present, all grown up now, married, and with a young daughter named Madeline.

As often happens we all grow up and leave behind our childhood days too, the pivotal moments and memories that take a back seat to a world of demands from life and work. And how often we lose our way and lose sight of what matters. Christopher Robin, even though we’d like to believe he didn’t lose his way, is no different, as the film plays out showing him in a demanding job and missing out on spending time with his family.

While his wife and daughter go off to spend the weekend at their cottage, Christopher must stay behind because of the demands of work. Madeline leaves behind a drawing on the kitchen table of Pooh and the gang she found tucked in her father’s things, along with a note for her dad…. with of course, a jar of honey.

And wouldn’t you know it as his wife and daughter are away, and Christopher home alone… Pooh shows up just in time to help Christopher Robin and guide him back to his inner child.

The poignant message from Pooh hits early on in the movie once Christopher accepts his reality as being pulled back to the place he needs to be now in order to reclaim what he knew all along, but had forgotten.

It’s Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh on the bridge, throwing sticks once again into the water, watching them float under the bridge and back out again, when Pooh says, Doing nothing often leads to the best something.

How often as adults and in a world that spins faster and faster, we forget that pushing, pushing, pushing isn’t the way. The more we push, the less we feel, the less we feel, the more we spin our wheels, and lose sight of what’s important.

The theatre was packed that afternoon, with many giggles from children that could be heard. For me, this lent itself beautifully to reminiscing about the favorite parts of my childhood that I can recall – the stories I loved, such as Winnin-the-Pooh, and the many stuffed animals I had as friends that comforted me often.

While sometimes I think these movies are more for adults with some of the messages kids may not yet understand, I found myself hoping that even if the kids didn’t yet fully understand the message, that it stays with them as they too someday become adults…and my hope that they will bring to this world the importance and value of doing nothing on a regular basis, which really is something, that keeps us in alignment with who we truly are.

XO,

Barbara

Getting Back to What Matters

Posted by Barbara Techel
Getting Back to What Matters
Swallowtail butterfly outside my kitchen window
 
You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes you. This is the place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen. ~Joseph Campbell
 
So many distractions this morning that could have easily derailed me from my commitment to working on my new book. Waking up late because I didn’t feel well overnight, to John being crabby, of which he eventually shared with me it was regarding a work challenge, to the insurance company calling to help me file my claim for the damage to my car from a hit and run.
 
When I first became a writer, I admit I was entranced by the fantasy of solitude and spilling out the contents of my heart effortlessly on a daily basis. I’ve learned a lot in eleven years and the reality that is. While there are many days it is divine and flows with ease, most days just don’t shake out this way. Writing is work. But it’s work I don’t intend on giving up anytime too soon.
 
Though I almost threw in the towel today and said the heck with it. I’m tired after a restless night, the energy was heavy in the house with John’s concerns over work, and then dealing with three different people regarding the claim on my car….well, a nap sure seemed like the better thing to do.  🙂
 
But I thought about the manifesto I’d written for my book yesterday and my About Page I recently updated on my website. While this book is another memoir, it’s more than that. It’s about helping empower women to open to their inner voice, express their fears and desires, expand their perspective, emerge into new possibilities, and continue to evolve as their True Self.
 
Sitting down to do my daily oracle card reading for myself and then journal as my daily ritual, it was confirmed what I needed to tap into to get my butt in my writing chair despite all the distractions from the morning.
 
As I shuffled, I heard to count down to the fourth card from the top. 
 
From the Wisdom of the Oracle: Higher Power #4
 
I then pulled a card from an inspirational deck I recently provided feedback for (of which I can’t share yet as it is still in the works, but will share when I can!).
 
The card was SHARE.
 
Okay, universe. I hear you. A reminder that I’m not writing this book alone. To get out of my small self that was feeling tired and irritated by how the morning had played out so far. I’m not creating this book alone and it’s my connection to something bigger than me that I felt re-energized and ready to get to the task at hand. Pulling the Share card a reminder that in sharing my story, I will make a difference in the lives of women my book is meant to touch.
 
And it triggered remembering a quote I recently read by Joseph Campbell which I shared above. It’s true the importance of taking time each day to “simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”
 
This place, of which I have as a physical space in my writing cottage, I also feel it’s important to say that it’s also that inner space that we must take time to be with each day. Though, of course, this is what Joseph Campbell speaks to also. While the physical place is often more easily achieved, it’s the inner space we don’t always value enough in a fast-driven society. But it’s the space in which the answers lie.
 
From sitting with what felt like an empty well after the interruptions of the morning, to finding my center once again, moving to my writing desk became a choice that truly matters to me and the impact I want to leave on the world. And while my writing session wasn’t without effort today, I’m in a place of contentment for having stayed committed to what is important to me.
 
Just as I finished writing this post, I remembered the photo I captured of a swallowtail butterfly outside my kitchen window early last evening. Looking up it’s meaning made me smile as another beautiful reminder of how the universe is always supporting us with signs to guide us along our path:
 
Inspiration, intuition, higher consciousness, transformation, resurrection, flashes of insight, power of beauty, strength in vulnerability.
 
XO,
Barbara
P.S. My reward for doing what matters today besides feeling good I did the work? This afternoon I’m going with my dear friend to see the movie, Christopher Robin with Winnie-the-Pooh and the Gang! I’m sure glad author A.A. Milne did what mattered to him.