the tao of pooh

[Lorentzen / Nicklaus]

 "the honey doesn't taste so good once it is being eaten; the goal doesn't mean 
so much once it is reached; the reward is not so rewarding once it has been 
given. if we add up all the rewards in our lives, we won't have very much. but 
if we add up the spaces  b e t w e e n  the rewards, we'll come up with quite a 
bit. and if we add up the rewards  a n d  the spaces, then we'll have everything 
---every minute of the time that we spent. what if we could enjoy it?

   the christmas presents once opened are notsomuchfun as they were while we 
were in the process of examining, lifting, shaking, thinking about, and opening 
them. three hundred sixty-five days later, we try again and find that the same 
thing has happened. each time the goal is reached, it becomes notsomuchfun, and 
we're off to reach the next one, and then the next.

    that doesn't mean that the goals we have don't count. they do, mostly 
because they cause us to go through the process, and it's the  p r o c e s s 
that makes us wise, happy, or whatever. if we do things in the wrong sort of 
way, it makes us miserable, angry, confused, and things like that. the goal has 
to be right for us, and it has to be beneficial, in order to ensure a beneficial 
process. but aside from that, it's really the process that's important.         
e n j o y m e n t  of the process is the secret that erases the myths of the 
great reward and saving time. perhaps this can help to explain the everyday 
significance of the word  t a o, the way.

    what could we call that moment before we begin to eat the honey? some would 
call it anticipation, but we think it's more than that. we would call it 
awareness. it's when we become happy and realize it, if only for an instant. by 
enjoying the process, we can stretch that awareness out so that it's no longer 
only a moment, but covers the whole thing. then we can have a lot of fun. just 
like pooh."

                       --- benjamin hoff: the tao of pooh [1982], pp. 111f. ---

 kai