! Pooh Bear And Hindu Philosophy Poem by Michael Shepherd

It was a fine early Spring morning, and in the Forest the Animals were busy Being Themselves, and doing all the things that Being Oneself involves.

Pooh had had a Being Myself morning, sorting out the hunny jars and wondering if two half-full jars were really quite the same as one full jar, or really quite different; and why a half-full jar looked quite different from a half-empty jar..

But now this afternoon the Boy and his Bear are walking down the path towards the Poohsticks bridge, and the path is feeling Springy too, with its dry leaves and twigs and beech mast like the bouncy mattress in CR’s nursery, as if they were saying ‘yes, we are here too! ’

‘CR..’ said Pooh, holding CR’s hand rather tight as he did when a Big Thought was hovering like a bee who hasn’t quite make its mind up whether to land here or move on somewhere else, ‘what’s Ah-Dwy-Ter? ’

‘Well Pooh..’ said CR slowly, wanting to answer but not wanting to confuse a Bear of Very Little Brain who was also Beloved Bear…

‘There’s Dwy-ter and Ah-dwy-ter… Dwy-ter means sort of Two to Indians, and Ah-dwy-ter means Not Two…’

There was a long pause, while Spring went on springing, and the bee in Pooh’s brain did another circle because it sensed that there was more hunny somewhere in this flowerbed than had yet called attention to itself.

‘So it’s like, when it’s a stormy day and we shan’t see each other, and I feel saddish and Not One… and then at lunchtime the clouds clear and you come along and I’m happy to see you…and I feel that you and I are really Not Two when we’re together…? ’

‘Something like that, Pooh’ said CR. ‘Because, if someone were coming up this path towards us right now, they might say ‘Oh look, there’s the two of them…’ But we should know it’s not really like that…’

And a warm happy feeling spread from Pooh’s feet walking on the bouncy Spring path, up to the tip of his nose and the edges of his ears that CR liked to stroke when he ran out of words.

Now Pooh knew another Very Important Word which wasn’t as big close up as it was in the distance, and knew exackly the difference between One and Not Two and how, to those who really understand these things, one and one can make a Not Two sort of One...

Pooh squeezed CR’s hand like people do who are Not Two, and CR looked down affectionately at Beloved Bear as they walked down the Springy path in the sunshine, and the sky seemed glad to have rained, but happy not to be raining now:

‘Silly old Pooh…’