The Time Winnie the Pooh Got Stuck

Being Patient

The Story

Winnie the Pooh is wandering down a road in the Hundred Acre Wood when he happens upon Rabbit’s house. He knocks on Rabbit’s door— a hole dug into what looks like rock, or very packed dirt— but Rabbit pretends not to be home at first, because Pooh has a tendency to eat all of Rabbit’s food. This time is no exception; Winnie the Pooh manages to fiddle his way in, asks for some honey, and proceeds to suck down every drop. When he gets up to leave— honey pots empty and upended on table and floor— he is fully stuffed, and that causes him to get stuck in the round hole of Rabbit’s door. He can’t budge. 

Rabbit is immediately distressed. He runs out the front door (this is the first time the viewer realizes there’s another door, in a tree) and goes to get Christopher Robin. They all try to pull Pooh out, but it’s no use. He’s stuck. Christopher Robin says they just have to wait for Pooh to get thinner** again. “Oh, Bother,” Pooh says. 

They wait in various ways. Rabbit tries to decorate Pooh’s stuck bottom, with funny results. Pooh has a midnight conversation with the whistle-toothed Badger, a construction expert who thinks Pooh can be blasted out with dynamite. Pooh desires this quick solution, but can’t understand Badger’s request for money. Instead, Pooh asks Badger for food, but Rabbit shoos Badger away.

What’s interesting about this story is that the solution to the problem is, simply, patience. I can’t think of any other children’s story or television show that presents patience as a solution. The lesson is the antidote to the typical sledgehammer approach that Americans often take, actively hacking at a problem and forcing faster change in a way that isn’t always productive or good for our mental health. Sometimes the only thing to do is wait. Waiting is hard. But waiting— and patience— often solves the problem.

Eventually, Pooh budges. The team works together to pull him out, and he winds up flying across the pages of the book to land in the dripping hole of a honey tree, which is imminently satisfying for both him and his viewers. Patience is rewarded. 

**I scanned this story for anti-fat bias, and it all feels very matter-of-fact to me. There’s no judgement from the other characters on Pooh’s character for either eating or having a big tummy. In earlier episodes, he speaks of his tummy and his appetite with sincere adoration. This is something I love about the world of Pooh, and that seems fairly progressive for its time. 

Photo by Taha on Unsplash

The Character Trait

Patience is the ability to wait, calmly and collectedly, in the face of challenges, adversity, or delays. A patient person will be more likely to tolerate minor irritations because they are focused on the big picture. Patience is often rewarded with the ability to choose an opportune moment for moving forward. In this way, it is tied to perseverance and resilience.

Let’s Do Some Stuff Together

For this week, practice patience by giving yourself a time-out on something that *seems* urgent, like a stressful email, a confrontation, or an irritating task. Often, our response to something difficult is, “let’s just get this over with,” but that puts us in a position of tackling the issue with a predisposition to annoyance or anger. Giving a problem space to breathe may mean it comes unstuck on its own (like Pooh!) or at least allows you a calmer headspace when you do approach it.

Want more?

If you’re a parent or teacher, show your children what it means to be patient. It’s harder than ever to wait for something, especially when we have the ability to be constantly distracted by our phones. If you’re waiting with a child, let them know that it’s hard to be patient, but remind them that what you’re waiting for is worthwhile, even if it’s something they don’t particularly want to do.

If you’re a writer/creator, be patient with your projects. Sometimes your writing or art might just need some space to breathe in order to come unstuck.

How did this work for you? Leave a comment below, and you might be featured in next week’s newsletter!

Last Week’s Leftovers

Last week’s post was about kindness, and several friends and family members wrote to agree how kind my mother is (it’s true)! Eileen commented that she found value in short reminders about kindness, in the manner of the quote on my school’s wall. I can agree with that— reminders are helpful. I was just pointing out that, for children, we need to do more. We need to model kindness constantly. It’s one of those character traits where we get more back if we put more in.

What do you think?

Stuff You Might Like To Know

I’m currently reading The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff, which, as with all of her works, is both astounding and not at all what I expected. I also just started Wellness by Nathan Hill, on Audible because the reader is very good. (Also, it’s a really long book, and I can listen comfortably on 1.2 speed.)

I’m obsessed with this conversation between Virginia Sole-Smith and Angela Garbes.

I’m watching season 3 of Upload on Amazon Prime and it’s one of those rare shows that’s satisfying on a story level and also gives you a lot to think about.

What are you watching and reading?

Here’s to us, in all of our imperfect, striving goodness.

Keep hoping. Keep caring. Keep trying.