The_Goal.page

The Goal

It hadn't been that long since I'd returned to the Hundred Acre Wood. Of course here, time has no bounds or bonds. My days were spent in healing, and simple joy and I loved being back with those I considered family.
One day as Pooh and I were walking along the river, he stopped to stare down into a tiny ant hill. He seemed mesmerized by all the activity going on around his feet, as the ants came and went, came and went ... doing their ant(ly) duties. He crouched down lower, to peer into the opening of the ant world and quietly asked of me, "Blue Eyes, do you know why the ants work so hard?"
"No Pooh," I replied in a hushed tone. "I don't know. Perhaps they have a goal."
Pooh looked up from the ant hill, his beady eyes wide with puzzlement. "A goal? Blue Eyes, what's a goal?"
I smiled down at my cuddly little bear and held out my hand to pull him to his feet. "Well Pooh," I had to pause and think, "hmm, how can I explain this to you?"
We began to walk again, with no where in particular to go and it occurred to me that Pooh and I needed "A Goal."
"Pooh," I asked, "where are we going?"
"Going, Blue Eyes? Why, we are just walking. Do we have to go somewhere?" Pooh again seemed puzzled. "Can't we just be ... walking?"
"That's just it Pooh, we need a goal, a direction! Otherwise Pooh, we might just be walking in circles."
"Would that be so bad Blue Eyes?" Pooh asked me. "Walking in circles can be fun. Once Eeyore and I walked in a huge circle for hours and hours. We would have walked in that circle all day, but I got hungry." Pooh patted his tummy as he said those words, and I squeezed his hand.
"You know Pooh, I think all this walking has made me hungry too. I'll race you back."

After enjoying a lovely lunch of honey and berries, Pooh and I stretched out under a big oak tree and watched the clouds swim by. It was peaceful laying there. The birds sang one of our favorite songs and the ants kept up their work. I turned my head to speak to Pooh and found him on his tummy, once again enthralled with an ant colony nearby. "A goal. Hmm." I heard him mutter.
"Yes Pooh, they have a goal." I replied, as I too, turned to lay on my belly and inspect the world of the busy ant. "You see Pooh, the ants work together to build their home, to feed one another, to care for each other. That is their goal. To ensure that the ant colony survives."
"I see," said Pooh, " so the ants work and work and work. But Blue Eyes, when do they get to stop working and enjoy their life?"
"That is a very good question Pooh. I suppose to them, that working is all they know and since it is all they know, they are content in their work."
"Hmmm...." said Pooh, tapping his finger against his cheek. "Well, I don't think I would enjoy it all that much. I would miss watching the clouds swim by and the birds singing and eating honey and playing with my friends. If all I did was work all the time, I would have no time for such things."
I laughed at Pooh's simplistic view and stopped. It wasn't all that simplistic. Yes, I know we work and strive to attain "things" ... to maintain what we have, but if we don't take the time to enjoy those little things in life that bring us joy, what are we working for?
"So Blue Eyes," Pooh asked of me, "what goal should you and I have today?"
I had to think a moment before replying and answered back, "I think our goal today is to enjoy each other's company. To listen to one another, to care and love and comfort. To play. To find a direction to move in, to set a steady course and in doing so, be productive. As productive as the ants at our feet, but never losing site of our goal."
"Our goal is to simply "Be," because you see Pooh, we are more than all we do. We are more than the sum of our activities. We are complex beings, or Bears in your case," I added with a smile. "And being such complex creatures, we have this need to never stop learning and growing, even in our failures, we learn and grow, Pooh."
"I think I understand Blue Eyes." Pooh said with conviction. "The ants do only what they know to do; work. But we know how to enjoy life."
"Some of us do Pooh," I said sadly as I patted his little shoulder, "some of us do." "Unfortunately Pooh, it's not as easy for some to enjoy the simple little things in life because they are so busy working and they think that without their work, they are nothing and no one."
"Blue Eyes, do you mean that they think that if the ants stopped working so hard they would not be ants anymore?" Pooh stood tall, his tiny hands on his hips. "well that is just ridikless."
"That's "ridiculous" Pooh." I said with a snicker.
"That's what I just said." Pooh replied.
"Oh yes, you did, didn't you?" I agreed and smiled down at Pooh.
"An ant would be an ant, even if he decided to laze around on top of a rock and enjoy the warmth of the sun." Pooh stamped his foot to make his point.
"Oh, I do agree Pooh!" I nodded my head.
"And," Pooh went on to say, his chest puffed out, hands still at his hips, "they prolly think that if I didn't eat honey, I would not be a Bear!"
At that, I could no longer contain my laughter, and reached down to pull Pooh up into my arms and swung him around. "I love you Pooh."
"I love you too Blues Eyes. Now put me down, I'm dizzy."
Placing my tiny friend back down on the ground, we set off to accomplish our Goal.