Every so often people in two unrelated corners of my world recommend a book to me. I consider this a small nudge from the universe. The universe recommended “The Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff to me in this way. A particular chapter in this book spoke eloquently to my condition.
Please give me a slice of Cottleston Pie
The chapter that resonated with me is the chapter titled “Cottleston Pie,” a song that Winnie-the-Pooh sang in the 1926 children’s classic “Winnie-the-Pooh” by A. A. Milne.
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fish can’t whistle and neither can I.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
Why does a chicken? I don’t know why.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Please give me a slice of Cottleston Pie. A fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly. That’s asymmetrical. It sounds a little unfair to the fly to me. But people have different abilities. Steps to Knowledge, the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God, addresses this subject. Step 12 of the 365 steps of Steps to Knowledge is “My individuality is to express life itself.”
“This distinction does not elevate you above or place you below anyone else. It merely pinpoints the real purpose behind your individuality and its great promise for the future. You are here to express something.”
Please give me a slice of Cottleston Pie. A fish can’t whistle and neither can I. If a fish judges itself by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. Step 83 of Steps to Knowledge asks:
“What has disappointed you but the misappropriation of your abilities? What grieves and angers you but the misappropriation of other people’s abilities.”
Benjamin Hoff connected this song to a passage from the writings of Chuang-tse:
Hui-tse said to Chuang-tse, “I have a large tree which no carpenter can cut into lumber. Its branches and trunk are crooked and tough, covered with bumps and depressions. No builder would turn his head to look at it. Your teachings are the same–useless, without value. Therefore, no one pays attention to them.”
“As you know,” Chuang-tse replied, “a cat is very skilled at capturing its prey. Crouching low, it can leap in any direction, pursuing whatever it is after. But when its attention is focused on such things, it can be easily caught with a net. On the other hand, a huge yak is not easily caught or overcome. It stands like a stone, or a cloud in the sky. But for all its strength, it cannot catch a mouse.”
“You complain that your tree is not valuable as lumber. But you could make use of the shade it provides, rest under its sheltering branches, and stroll beneath it, admiring its character and appearance. Since it would not be endangered by an axe, what could threaten its existence? It is useless to you only because you want to make it into something else and do not use it in its proper way.”
These words are an open window to me. People have had beautiful dreams of making me into something all my life. They have all failed. I have felt utterly uncooperative in not responding to their efforts to make me into something. I sometimes feel like I have been like Hui-tse’s crooked, tough, bumpy tree, not good for being made into things. But in the world of Knowledge, it is as if people rest under my sheltering branches, and stroll beneath me, enjoying the bumps on my branches. In the world of Knowledge, I find things to be good for, and they find me. I trust my deepest inclinations, and it seems to help. Steps to Knowledge makes such a promise in Step 231, “I have a calling in this world.”
“You have a calling in this world because you were sent here to do something. It is for this reason that your mind is the way it is and that you have a specific nature that is distinct from others. As your calling emerges, you will realize why you think and act the way you do, and all of this will be brought into true balance and harmony. This will erase all cause you have for self-condemnation, for your nature represents a usefulness that you have not yet realized. In other words, you are made specifically for something that you have not yet comprehended. Prior to this you will resist your nature, thinking it is a limitation upon you. In time, you will realize that it is an invaluable resource for accomplishment, for you have a calling in the world.”
I’m not quite there yet at realizing my nature as an invaluable resource for accomplishment, but I’m working on it. Please give me a slice of my inner nature. Please give me a slice of Cottleston Pie.
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Seeing “These words are an open window to me” as I start my day, which will not be an easy day, this with will make a difference. Pooh and crew helped as well. Thank you!