Cottlestone Pie

Mmmmm, pie!  I’m going to like this chapter.

Cottlestone Pie is a song that Pooh sings, I had forgotten about it.  Now I’m all excited for pie - maybe on the way home from work.  Anyway, turns out the song is kind of an allegory to deliver the message that we must accept ourselves - our inner nature.  Recognize our limitations and try to direct them in productive ways.

“A fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly.”  No square pegs in round holes.  Things Are As They Are.  Hoff relates a selection from the writings of Chuang-tse.  Hui-tse tells Chuang-tse that he has a large, crooked, tough tree.  It can’t be used for lumber so it’s useless. Hui-tse compares this tree to the teachings of Chuang-tse, useless and without value.

Chuang-tse replies that the tree could be used for shade, to rest and shelter under it’s branches. He tells Hui-tse that they only reason the tree is useless to him is because he’s trying to make it into something it isn’t instead of using it in its proper way.  

So we all have our place and function and when we know and respect our Inner Nature we will know where we belong and where we don’t belong.  This sounds so simple but it’s really super complicated.  Am I unhappy at my job because I’m trying to force myself to be something I’m not?  There are a lot of things about my job that I really like.  It wasn’t till my boss started being a big round hole that I started feeling frustration at work.  I feel that I have to walk on egg shells around my co-workers because they’re super sensitive OR am I really abrasive?  NOTE: Serious Soul Searching needed

“A fish can’t whistle and neither can I.” Understanding that you have limitations and knowing what they are.  This doesn’t mean we don’t try to improve on some of those limitations.  

“Once you face and understand your limitations, you can work with them, instead of having them work against you and get in your way, which is what they do when you ignore them, whether you realize it or not. And then you will find that, in many cases, your limitations can be your strengths.”  The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff

NOTE: More Serious Soul Searching needed

So, to summarize - what am I looking for in my soul?. I am looking for my place and function.  Am I a tree that should be used for lumber or am I tree that should be used for shade and resting under?  

Next, what are my limitations and how can I best work with them?  

Damn!  This is hard work! Here I was getting excited for pie and now I just have stupid hard work. BLEAH!