The Tao of Pooh
By: Benjamin Hoff / Narrated By: Simon Vance
Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
He may not be the smartest, but Pooh is Pooh. And that’s pretty darned great!
Seriously. I’ve had to listen to The Tao of Pooh THREE times (Good thing it’s so short!) cuz it’s just so incredibly full of concepts, information, twists on the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
What all is in it, you ask? Well, let’s see. It starts with an explanation of Taoism and how it is as opposed to Confucianism and Buddhism. Apparently, Confucianism is learning for the sake of learning, learning without wisdom. And Buddhism is gritting your teeth and bearing it, until you reach the state of nirvana where you’re released from aaaaall the cycles that Taoism teaches you to embrace.
Or maybe that’s just my own takeaway. I could be wrong about all of it. Did I mention I listened three… THREE! times, and I still should probably listen a couple more times as I’m OBVIOUSLY still a lout?
Here is what I DO know about the book:
It’s jolly good. Okay, okay, maybe I skipped over the nuts and bolts sections, but I absoLUTEly enjoyed the Pooh tales and how they can be viewed. You have the clever Rabbit. You have the wise Owl. You have the educated Eeyore. There’s anxious Piglet. And the “different” from the others, Kanga and Roo. All WRONG!
And don’t forget about Tigger and his penchant for overestimating his abilities! We see how Eeyore can use his education to make himself feel superior, saying that those who are unlearned just don’t get it (Jeez! Sounds like my ex!).
Then there’s learning to find by not seeking in the first place (Rabbit, Piglet, and Pooh trying to find the way home but walking in circles. Pooh tries listening for the twelve pots of honey he has to guide him home, but Rabbit “will talk” and that gets in the way). There’s the current way of living, of being too busy. Europe has cafes where you can sit and talk and relax, where you count as a person; we have fast food joints which tell us that we don’t count, it’s all get it and go. We here are obviously living in the world of the “Bisy Backson”s (Busy, back soon).
My absolute favorite was the author trying to get Pooh to educate himself about what’s going on in the world. Click. Radio on. Blast of really, really awful and devastating news. Pooh wonders: How does that educate me? Cuz all Pooh needs to know if it’s a fine day is by looking out the window and asking the singing birds. They say that it’s a fine day, and that cheers Pooh. There’s nothing so wonderful here and now as somebody else thinking, right along with you, how nice things are. Click. Radio off. As I watch the evening news sometimes, I now want to stick my head out the window to chat with some birds. Surely THEY have more relevant info I need to “educate” myself with how my world is.
Now, at first I thought I’d be dinging Simon Vance (Simon VANCE, for crying out loud!) for his narration. Hold on, hold on, I KNOW! It’s just that I thought his version of Winnie’s voice was too different from what I had in my head. But once I let go of my cartoonish notions of how Pooh sounds, once I started appreciating Eeyore’s pedantic tones, I started to relax and enjoy myself. And how can anyone go wrong with Simon Vance as narrator? Thus far, we have four audiobooks reviewed narrated by the highly-esteemed man.
The Tao of Pooh takes some much-loved tales and shines a light on them, turning them this way and that so that we find ourselves learning about life, our society, ourselves. Even when its pronouncements are dire and its observations somewhat scathing, author Benjamin Hoff manages to interject humor and warmth. And there’s a DEFinite affection for that most wondrous of characters, the sage himself: Winnie-the-Pooh.
Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to listen to it a FOURTH time. One can never have too much peace in life; one can never be too present in the moment either!
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