In the book “The Tao of Pooh,” Benjamin Hoff intends to explain the Taoism principles using the example of a famous children’s story character – Winnie the Pooh. In this regard, the current paper will discuss three major aspects of this ancient Chinese philosophy and analyze how these teachings can be used for self-cultivation and patient treatment. Those principles include inner nature and Wu Wei and the concept that was metaphorically called Bisy Backson.
The idea of inner nature reminds the readers of the importance of self-respect and acceptance. Indeed, many people may lack the appreciation of their personality as it is, thus, seeking to be or become somebody else. Such tendency is even more pronounced nowadays as individuals are constantly bombarded with the ideal images of others through various media sources. Unsurprisingly, that pursuing other people’s lives and diminishing the value of one’s personality can have a crucial negative impact on a person’s well-being. For that reason, it is important to learn to see positive aspects of one’s character and also motivate one’s patients to do so.
In my opinion, one of the logical consequences of denying one’s inner nature is becoming Bisy Backson – a person that is always involved in some activity and never has free time. Again, such individuals want to become better versions of themselves but take this idea to its extreme. Although being constantly busy may seem that a person is living his/her life to the fullest, Hoff maintains that such people usually struggle to enjoy the moment. As a result, this type of lifestyle can lead to negative consequences such as stress and chronic fatigue syndrome, to name a few. Therefore, it is necessary to balance life between something that a person enjoys doing for the sake of the action itself and work.
Finally, Wu Wei or the principle of “not doing” postulates that it is sometimes pointless to put an effort to achieve some things; rather, a better strategy would be to relax and standstill. It applies to situations when people are impatient to accomplish something or try changing things beyond their control which again leads to constant stress and other psychological issues. On the contrary, not putting in excessive efforts can actually lead to faster progress. Therefore, it is necessary to teach oneself and patients how to accept life the way it is without fanatic desire to control everything.