Winnie the Pooh, Thomas Friedman, and the Paws that Refresh

Winnie the Pooh, Thomas Friedman, and the Paws that Refresh April 24, 2017

As I wait for my flight at Logan Airport, I am pondering Thomas Friedman’s recent book, “Thank You For Being Late.” Friedman notes that accelerations are accelerating, and faster is going faster, and that while we are adaptive creatures, changes are happening almost too quickly for thought and responsible action to catch up. Whether by choice or necessity, we need to pause to find our bearings, to gain perspective, and to let the deeper realities of life soak in.

Winnie the Pooh and his companions in the 100 Aker Wood seem like strange guides in our rapidly accelerating technological, global, and political context. After all, virtually nothing ever happens in the Wood. Life is slow and savored. And, yet each day is filled with adventures and some days Pooh and his friends have to sprint – or at least bounce or skip! – to catch up. New things happen to which the creatures of the Wood must respond – a bouncing Tigger, a big wind that topples Owl’s home, bees on the rampage, a flood that traps Piglet. These may not matter much in the world accelerating accelerations, but Winnie always responds by pausing a moment to connect with his deeper instincts. He takes a deep breath, sniffs the air, consults his stomach, and goes forward to the next adventure.

Moving at what we perceive to be the speed of light, pausing seems an impossibility and in fact dangerous to our well-being. If we slow down, we believe that we’ll be left behind, the e-mails will pile up, and others will get ahead of us on the road to….

Yet, the acceleration of time can undermine our well-being, making us susceptible to the impact of time or hurry sickness, if we don’t find a way to experience the pause that refreshes.

So, in the midst of my cross country peregrinations today, I am glad to have the opportunity to pause and recognize that despite my attempts to control reality, there is much I cannot control, including the departure of my plane. And, so I pause and with Winnie take the “paws” that refreshes. The airport is a microcosm of life. Once I’m here, I don’t hurry, because I can’t hurry. I am right here, and can’t be anywhere else! I simply take a deep breath, get my bearings, sniff the environment, and tap into whatever sight or insight that catches my attention. Perhaps I simply become all sense or all eye, taking everything in without judgment or I wait for a creative thought to emerge or I gently move ahead on a project, knowing the work is all grace here at the terminal’s sanctuary.

Winnie reminds me that this is what life’s about. Martin Luther is reputed to have noted, “I have so much to do that I need to spend more time today in prayer.” In meandering a bit, whether in prayer, contemplation, or movement, time slows down for a moment. We see more clearly, and problems slow down so solutions can emerge. We discover in our connectedness with the deeper movements of life that we have all the time in the world.

The 100 Aker Wood is everywhere we pause and let the world move ahead for a few moments as we survey the landscape of time and space. Every moment in this Wooded Life can be an epiphany, a novelty, and an adventure even if we’re just sitting in an airport restaurant, waiting for our plane to be announced.

So, with Thomas Friedman, I often think when my plane is delayed, “Thank you for being late,” and though I hope it will not be too late, the waiting can become a sanctuary and holy place for those who pause, breathe deeply, and let go into the wonder of this present moment and the wider perspective our pausing brings.


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