There is this book I have read that I want to share with everybody. It gives a glimpse of the principles of Taoism- a Chinese religion. The main characters which include the Owl, Bisy Backson, Eeyore, Tigger, and Pooh, simply portrayed us on how we deal with the things around us. According to the book, most of us are like Owl who acquires knowledge exclusively for him and for the sake of having knowledge only. And instead of working for the enlightenment of others, we confuse things. Like the Bisy Backson we never learned how to slow down because we work and try so hard making us feel so exhausted and attain failure instead of success. Eeyore also portrayed us for we always complain about the results of the things that we did or things that have been done unto us not knowing that complaining accomplishes nothing at all. Another one is that of Tigger who thinks of himself as perfect and that he knows everything and not realizing his weaknesses and limitations. The book is trying to tell us that we should act like Pooh who lets things work out naturally, being effortless, to have simple-mindedness and to have a child’s mind. It is through the character of Pooh that the Taoist principles were clearly explained that is why the book is entitled the Tao of Pooh or The Way of Pooh.

Another thing that the book emphasized is the principle of Inner Nature wherein everything in the world has its own place and function. Like for us people, we do have our own unique potentials and capabilities. We can do things in our own special ways, however, along with this; we also have to know our limitations and weaknesses so we could work it out and see better results and outcomes. Having the awareness of our weaknesses, we know where we belong and where we do not. We should never consider ourselves as perfect and claim to be infallible because we are not. If we recognize our weaknesses, we can mold this into becoming our strength instead of making it work against us. We ought to have deeper understanding of ourselves to help us become an individual of worth and value. We just have to believe that there are so much more to discover within us, things that can never be stolen by anyone and as soon we come to discover and cultivate such inner treasures, we must remain humble and not to be over confident.

The Principle of Emptiness is another concept that should be considered. It emphasizes that cleverness does not help us understand everything about reality because a mind confused by knowledge, cleverness, and abstract ideas tends to go chasing off after things that do not matter, or what is right in front of it. Therefore, it is the knowledge that we attain from our own experiences that is more valuable than the knowledge that doesn’t. Knowing information and facts about a certain thing or reality is not enough because in every little thing, there is always more to explore and to be learned such that it is something that cleverness cannot really understand.

The Tao of Pooh also signified the Law of Wu-Wei wherein it encourages people not to go against the nature of things. We should not interfere with things but rather let them work in their own way in order to produce results naturally. Wu-Wei is telling us that things just happen in the right way and at the right time so we must let things work out by themselves. We just have to avoid doing tremendous efforts to gain nothing in return. And lastly, the Law of Reversion can never be forgotten. We should go back from where we started and that is being a child again. We know that a child enjoys life and let things go on naturally. Having this reversion we would be able to re-appreciate life and enjoy our surroundings which would eventually give us a youthful appearance, outlook and energy. Just like Pooh, we should consider these principles and we may not know it but we could live life in a simpler way yet with the most meaningful experiences.

The Principle of Inner Nature will remain embedded in my heart and in my mind until the last breath runs out of me. For long, I have looked at myself as someone inferior, weak and incapable of doing significant things. I thought of myself as being worthless. During my elementary and high school days, people around me never gave me the chance to prove my worth making me feel of no use. Well of course my family has always been supportive of me but the people outside of my family strengthened my inferiority complex. I remember when I would rather choose to stay home than going to school and see and face again those people who have nothing to do with their lives but to intimidate and discourage me.

When I reached college, things have changed. People around me started to appreciate my works and me. Some gave me compliments that lifted up my spirit and made me confident about myself. I was able to join publications of our department, join several dance competitions, being a member and an officer of a school organization, when I have performed well in my academics, when I gained an International Scholarship from American International Group (AIG), and when I was able to get my article published in the most-read national publication. It all came in a blast. Small achievements it may seem but through these, I have been able to value myself and gave me the feeling of worth that I have always been wishing to earn. The book helped me to trust myself even more and to believe that there are so much more inside of me to explore and discover. I also owe my achievements to the few people who have been there to help me bring out the best in me.

The Tao of Pooh somehow enlightened me about dealing with reality but most importantly, I was able to learn that each and every single one of us has significant roles to be played in this world and we just have to look inside us. We must also try to celebrate life as much as we can instead of getting preoccupied with worries and struggles. Life is beautiful if we know how to deal with the things around us, how to understand and value the nature of things and learn how to let things work out naturally at the right time and at the right way.