Hunny! 40 Days in the 100 Aker Wood – Day 30 – Tuesday after 5th Sunday of Lent
To Read:
“Eeyore, what are you doing there?” said Rabbit.
“I’ll give you three guesses, Rabbit. Digging holes in the ground? Wrong. Leaping from branch to branch of a young oak-tree? Wrong. Waiting for somebody to help me out of the river? Right. Give Rabbit time, and he’ll always get the answer.”
“But Eeyore,” said Pooh in distress, “what can we – I mean, how shall we – do you think if we”
“Yes,” said Eeyore. “One of those would be just the thing. Thank you, Pooh.”
“He’s going round and round,” said Roo, much impressed.
“And why not?” said Eeyore coldly.
“I can swim too,” said Roo proudly.
“Not round and round,” said Eeyore. “It’s much more difficult. I didn’t want to come swimming at all today,” he went on, revolving slowly. “But if, when in, I decide to practise a slight circular movement from right to left – or perhaps I should say,” he added, as he got into another eddy, “from left to right, just as it happens to occur to me, it is nobody’s business but my own.” There was a moment’s silence while everybody thought.
“I’ve got a sort of idea,” said Pooh at last, “but I don’t suppose it’s a very good one.”
“I don’t suppose it is either,” said Eeyore.
“Go on, Pooh,” said Rabbit. “Let’s have it.”
“Well, if we all threw stones and things into the river on one side of Eeyore, the stones would make waves, and the waves would wash him to the other side.
“That’s a very good idea,” said Rabbit, and Pooh looked happy again.
“Very,” said Eeyore. “When I want to be washed, Pooh, I’ll let you know.”
“Supposing we hit him by mistake?” said Piglet anxiously.
“Or supposing you missed him by mistake,” said Eeyore. “Think of all the possibilities, Piglet, before you settle down to enjoy yourselves.”
But Pooh had got the biggest stone he could carry, and was leaning over the bridge, holding it in his paws.
“I’m not throwing it, I’m dropping it, Eeyore,” he explained. “And then I can’t miss – I mean I can’t hit you. Could you stop turning round for a moment, because it muddles me rather?”
“No,” said Eeyore. “I like turning round.”
Rabbit began to feel that it was time he took command.
“Now, Pooh,” he said, “when I say ‘Now!’ you can drop it. Eeyore, when I say ‘Now!’ Pooh will drop his stone.”
“Thank you very much, Rabbit, but I expect I shall know.”
“Are you ready, Pooh? Piglet, give Pooh a little more room. Get back a bit there, Roo. Are you ready?”
“No,” said Eeyore.
“Now!” said Rabbit.
Pooh dropped his stone. There was a loud splash, and Eeyore disappeared…. It was an anxious moment for the watchers on the bridge. They looked and looked… and even the sight of Piglet’s stick coming out a little in front of Rabbit’s didn’t cheer them up as much as you would have expected. And then, just as Pooh was beginning to think that he must have chosen the wrong stone or the wrong river or the wrong day for his Idea, something grey showed for a moment by the river bank… and it got slowly bigger and bigger… and at last it was Eeyore coming out.
(The House at Pooh Corner – Eeyore joins the Game)
From the Scriptures:
Be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
(James 1v22-25)
To Reflect:
Rabbit began to feel that it was time he took command.
“Now, Pooh,” he said, “when I say ‘Now!’ you can drop it. Eeyore, when I say ‘Now!’ Pooh will drop his stone.”
“Thank you very much, Rabbit, but I expect I shall know.”
“Are you ready, Pooh? Piglet, give Pooh a little more room. Get back a bit there, Roo. Are you ready?”
“No,” said Eeyore.
“Now!” said Rabbit.
Once again Eeyore gives us the conundrum of needing, even gently demanding, help but then questioning the sort of help that is offered. It reminded me of the story of the wayfarer we met on Day 15 of our stay in the 100 Aker Wood who at one and the same time accepted free hot dogs yet complained ‘What? No onions?’
Eeyore is in a pickle and, though majestically twirling in the river, is waiting ’for somebody to help me out of the river’ yet when Pooh has an idea – and for a Bear of Very Little Brain he seems to depended on to have ideas frequently – Eeyore cavils at the plan. Pooh gives his best reassurances about ‘dropping’ rather than ‘throwing’ the stone and aiming to miss but Eeyore, still wanting to be rescued, doesn’t want to be rescued in the manner suggested!
Enter Rabbit, feeling ‘that it was time he took command’ and solved the impasse by encouraging, nay ordering, Pooh to drop his stone and ignoring Eeyore’s protests. If this is not an example of James Chapter 1 verse 22 in action I’m not sure what is…. Well… It isn’t really is it? Yes, something needed to be done (and in this case all ended well) but that doesn’t mean that the first idea that comes into our heads should be grabbed at; especially by those who make it their life’s work to make things happen. Like Bulls in China shops (or is it Toddlers in the Sanctuary?) when we just get on and do things we get the job done but we can often leave a wake that requires repentance and reparation. How do we stop this from happening? What could Rabbit have done differently?
This is where, regardless of whether we are the minister of a congregation, the door steward, or the tea pourer, we all need to learn skills in working with people. This is what is known as using our Emotional Intelligence (or EQ) to help us understand who we are and how we relate to those around us. If we do this well and carefully everyone prospers. When this happens in our church fellowships we find it easier to get our core job done and this is always ‘Being’ followed by ‘Doing’. When we choose to put ‘Doing’ first this can lead to things moving forward but car crashes often follow. However simply majoring on ‘Being’ may need to oodles of ‘Warm Fuzzy’ moments in a ‘Cold Prickly’ world but this will not change anything except for those in our immediate Holy Huddle. When we spend time learning to ‘become’ who we are we are then set free to spend time ‘doing’ righteous deeds which demonstrate who we are.
(P.S. If you would like some ideas on the concept of ‘Being AND Doing’ please have a look at my Daily Blog Posts in 2023 entitled ‘Being and Doing’ as well as their 2024 sequel ‘Character and Conduct’)
To Pray:
All that we ought to have thought
and have not thought,
All that we ought to have said,
and have not said,
All that we ought to have done,
and have not done;
All that we ought not to have thought,
and yet have thought,
All that we ought not to have spoken,
and yet have spoken,
All that we ought not to have done,
and yet have done;
For thoughts, words and works,
pray we, O God, for forgiveness.
(Persian Prayer)
To Do:
1) Explore learning more about Emotional Intelligence and other methods of self-awareness such as Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram or my personal favourite that has saved me from many a car crash the Gilmore-Fraleigh Type Indicator.
2) If you have ever pushed to get a job done in your church fellowship and have not considered the hurt caused to a sister or brother ask yourself what repentance and reparation you should be making.
If you want to dive deeper into the ways our emotional intelligence affects our common life this article by the Revd Alistair Mackay may be helpful.
http://www.alastairmckay.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/transforming-conflict.pdf
Please Note: These reflections are also published on my blog: suffolkvicarhomes.com on Twitter as @SuffolkVicar, and on my public Facebook page Rev Andrew Dotchin
If you would like them as a daily email please send a request to vicar@felixparish.com
Acknowledgements:
Text from ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and ‘The House at Pooh Corner’ by A.A. Milne copyright © The Trustees of the Pooh Properties.
Line illustrations copyright © The Estate of E.H. Shepard.
Colouring of the illustrations copyright © 1970 and 1973 The Estate of E.H. Shepard and HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Prayers are from ‘The Little Book of Prayers’ edited by David Schiller copyright © David Schiller 1996: Workman Publications.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
These Reflections, ‘Hunny! 40 Days in the 100 Aker Wood’ are copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2024
Suffolk Vicar 