The Gift of Friendship

'Wherever I am, there's always Pooh'

Greetings, dear Sunny Buddies, How are you today? 

I am sitting outside in my back garden on a lovely autumn morning here in Scotland. The sun is low in the sky, and the air is cool and still. It is one of those days when the beauty of the natural world feels close in and supportive. I am in a contemplative mood this morning as I think of you and what might brighten your day today. 

There are migrating geese flying overhead, honking encouragement to each other. I have a sense of camaraderie in this moment. MMmmmmm. I like that word, camaraderie; it has an old-world charm that means a 'spirit of friendly good-fellowship.' 

This feels just right for this day.

Photograph by Minka2507 at Pixabay

The geese intuitively know to fly in a V formation. It helps to conserve their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of them to help reduce wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. The V aids communication and makes it easier to stay connected. The geese flying overhead feel like a beautiful entry into today's theme of friendship.

The Gift of Friendship

A few weeks ago, I was asked to create a healing ceremony for a dear friend who has been very ill with COVID. It was an honour to do so. For the ceremony's completion, it came to me that the most sacred gift I could give my friend was to make her smile. Even laugh! We meet regularly online and have wide-ranging conversations that are often playful and sometimes rather outrageous. Genuine laugh-out-loud stuff. 

I remembered the poem below called 'Us Two' by A.A.Milne about the constancy of the friendship between Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. As I read it, I could feel into the depth of trust and love of life that my friend and I share. The sense of adventure it offers combined with the joy in simple things felt so right. It turned out to be a fitting end to the healing ceremony, and my friend loved it.

The poem has stayed with me since then. It invites us to remember how important friendships are to our wellbeing. So much has happened over the last two years to create separation and loss of connection and I feel this poem lays out the qualities of friendship in a way that lifts our spirits.

So, I decided to asked my voice coach and friend Tim Uffindell if he would make a recording of it for this week's Sunny Optimist. You may remember we first encountered Tim last April when I featured his recording of the book The Boy, The Mole, the Fox and the Horse. He is so good at capturing the spirit of a piece of writing. Listen to the cadence of the words. It is such a beautiful piece of poetry. Tim lightly but cleverly changes his voice to sound just like Christopher and Pooh. Truly wonderful.  I do hope you enjoy it.

Click here or on the image to listen.

Dedicated to my granddaughter Gracie - another great friendship.

Us Two

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:
"Well, that's very odd 'cos I was too.
Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.
"Let's go together," says Pooh.

"What's twice eleven?" I said to Pooh.
("Twice what?" said Pooh to Me.)
"I think it ought to be twenty-two."
"Just what I think myself," said Pooh.
"It wasn't an easy sum to do,
But that's what it is," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what it is," said Pooh.

"Let's look for dragons," I said to Pooh.
"Yes, let's," said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few,
"Yes, those are dragons all right," said Pooh.
"As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That's what they are," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what they are," said Pooh.

"Let's frighten the dragons," I said to Pooh.
"That's right," said Pooh to Me.
"I'm not afraid," I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted "Shoo!
Silly old dragons!"- and off they flew.

"I wasn't afraid," said Pooh, said he,
"I'm never afraid with you."

So wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
"What would I do?" I said to Pooh,
"If it wasn't for you," and Pooh said: "True,
It isn't much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. "That's how it is," says Pooh.

Questions for the Week.

Dear Buddies.

I so appreciate the constancy of the friendship we share here. Thank you for being with me on this adventure.

And so, to my questions for this week, I wonder.

• What signs of autumn touch your heart today?

• Who comes to mind as you think of the gift of friendship?

• Who do you love to chase dragons with?

As always, I would love to hear from you.

Ann