“Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.” (Winnie the Pooh)

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon when I went to see Christopher Robin at my local community cinema. I expected to hear comforting words of wisdom from Winnie the Pooh and friends, and they didn’t disappoint,  but I hadn’t realised just how timely the plot would be or how moved I would feel by this playful reminder of what is important in life and how easy it is to lose sight of our values.

“What day is it?” “It’s today.” “My favourite day.” (Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin)

In the throws of a midlife crisis, today is far from adult Christopher Robin’s favourite day. Caught on a treadmill of work and living for the future, he has lost sight of his priorities and values, and forgotten how to have fun. He is tense, irritable, unhappy, and clearly very lost as he becomes increasingly disconnected from his wife, Evelyn, who tells him, “your life is happening right now in front of you,” and his daughter, Madeleine, who feels personally responsible for her father’s unhappiness.

It is when he misses a family weekend away at his childhood cottage, staying in London to work, that he is reunited with his childhood companions Winnie the Pooh and friends. The residents of Hundred Acre Wood come to his rescue with gentle wisdom, innocent fun and boundless compassion, returning the many times young Christopher Robin came to help them in their daily woes.

“I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.” (Winnie the Pooh)

Pooh and friends each represent different personality traits. Pooh himself is content and grounded, his little friend Piglet is anxious and timid. Then there’s bouncing Tigger, exuberant and optimistic, Eeeyore who is depressed and pessimistic, the superior yet rather scatterbrained Owl, clingy, playful Roo, caring and protective Kanga, and obsessive, impatient Rabbit. They are all accepted and supported by each other, it’s just who they are, so it is perhaps no surprise they were unfazed by Christopher Robin’s troubles.

“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” (Winnie the Pooh)

It was a poignant reminder that if we are always grasping for future happiness, we are never actually experiencing it. Of course we can have ambitions, hopes and dreams, but how refreshing to simply rest in the moment and enjoy what is actually here.