Winnie the Pooh is My Spirit Animal
As I’ve settled into more Niksen time, and have learned to move through my depression, my life has slowed down tremendously. So when I watched the film Christopher Robin with my son recently, I was reconnected with the wonderful world of Winnie the Pooh. I grew up reading his books and watching his shows, and I remember in college reading the book “The Tao of Pooh,” and so I also associate his character with a Zen way of life. I’ve never adopted a fictional character as a Spirit Animal before, but after all, he is a bear!
The bear is a very powerful spirit animal that represents (from spiritanimal.info):
- Strength and confidence
- Standing against adversity; taking action and leadership
- The spirit of the the bear indicates it’s time for healing or using healing abilities to help self or others
- The bear medicine emphasizes the importance of solitude, quiet time, rest
- The spirit of the bear provides strong grounding forces
So why adopt a Spirit Animal? How can they support us? The following is the definition of Spirit Animal from dictionary.com:
“Spirit animal refers to a spirit which helps guide or protect a person on a journey and whose characteristics that person shares or embodies. It is also metaphor, often humorous, for someone or something a person relates to or admires.”
In short, a Spirit Animal is someone or something that you can turn to for inspiration or support throughout your lifetime. They can add meaning to your life, and give you a deeper understanding of who and why you are. Sounds pretty existential, huh?
Well, Winnie the Pooh got me thinking about who I am and how I want to present myself to the world. Besides feeling connected to the bear spirit animal meaning, I also find myself drawn to his Zen-like qualities. He has a very playful, childlike outlook on life, and I tend to take myself too seriously most of the time. So I need his humor and lighthearted outlook on life most days. He doesn’t judge, and just loves his friends for who they are, and I need help with that too. When I look back at his stories, I see so, so many gifts he has given me over the years.
Pooh teaches us gratitude, empathy, positive thinking, taking pleasure in the small things, getting along with everyone, taking time to do nothing, and the importance of friendship & community.
It kind of reminds me of the phrase “everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarten,” but Pooh trumps Kindergarten almost any day.
One thing I’ve always loved to do with my students and campers out in nature is something called a Sit Spot. A place that you can return to regularly to do nothing but look around and let your mind wander. While looking around, you start to notice things that you wouldn’t have noticed had you been walking by, or chatting with your friends, or looking at your phone. You notice smells, colors, textures, and small movements of creatures going about their daily tasks. And if you continue to return to this spot, you notice how it changes with the seasons. The animals will even start to get used to you, and you’ll see more of them too, and maybe become part of their community. All this wonder from sitting in one spot.
Did you know Winnie the Pooh had a spot like this? He called it “Pooh’s Thotful Spot.” Of course, he tried to think, think, think in this spot, but he also relaxed and enjoyed this spot in the same way we would enjoy a Sit Spot. My Sit Spot is in a hammock chair on my porch, and it’s my favorite spot to watch the birds and squirrels. Perhaps Pooh can inspire you to find a spot to sit in and enjoy a little Niksen time too.
