It occurred to Pooh and Piglet that they hadn’t heard from Eeyore for several days, so they put on their hats and coats and trotted across the Hundred Acre Wood to Eeyore’s stick house. Inside the house was Eeyore.

“Hello Eeyore,” said Pooh.

“Hello Pooh. Hello Piglet,” said Eeyore, in a Glum Sounding Voice.

“We just thought we’d check in on you,” said Piglet, “because we hadn’t heard from you, and so we wanted to know if you were okay.”

Eeyore was silent for a moment. “Am I okay?” he asked, eventually. “Well, I don’t know, to be honest. Are any of us really okay? That’s what I ask myself. All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. Which is why I haven’t bothered you. Because you wouldn’t want to waste your time hanging out with someone who is Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All, would you now.”

Pooh looked at Piglet, and Piglet looked at Pooh, and they both sat down, one on either side of Eeyore in his stick house.

Eeyore looked at them in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“We’re sitting here with you,” said Pooh, “because we are your friends. And true friends don’t care if someone is feeling Sad, or Alone, or Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. True friends are there for you anyway. And so here we are.”

“Oh,” said Eeyore. And the three of them sat there in silence, and while Pooh and Piglet said nothing at all; somehow, almost imperceptibly, Eeyore started to feel a very tiny little bit better.

Because Pooh and Piglet were there. No more; no less.

~ A.A.Milne, E.H.Shepard

THE POWER OF HUMAN CONNECTION

In the spirit of Mental Health Awareness month, I thought this little excerpt from the wise ol’ Pooh vault would be fitting.

We know awareness around mental health is important and knowing when to reach out to someone is reflective of strength. But, have you ever thought about how important basic human connection is?

Sometimes it’s not about knowing what to say or making a big to do; sometimes it’s just about being there, perhaps even silently, when someone is hurting.

We all tend to get wound up in the presentation of being “all together” but as a therapist, I can tell you that more often than not, people who seem to have it all together do not!

We live in a world that is picture perfect.  We are bombarded daily with images of perfection – perfect food, perfect bodies, perfect homes, perfect marriages, perfect lives – this list goes on.  And, even though we know that perfection is an illusion, we still find ourselves wrapped up in trying to achieve it.

BEING VULNERABLE IS HARD.

I witness it on a daily basis and nobody ever tells me it’s an easy place to be.  In fact, many people are resistant to vulnerability because they buy into the idea that being vulnerable means being weak.  

Brene Brown, the guru on vulnerability, maintains that “People connect more with those who have weaknesses”.  

Why?

Because being human means being imperfect and somewhere deep inside we know that people who are imperfect are more like us than they are different.

Thus, someone who shows vulnerability is not only exemplifying strength, they are exposing a connection point that often draws us closer to them rather than further away.

So, if you find yourself in the presence of someone who may not be feeling his/ her best, remind yourself that sometimes, just being there, without judgment or answers, may be enough.  

It’s that human connection thing and it’s powerful!