Words of Wisdom with Winnie the Pooh Quotes

If you were to ask someone what Disney character they turned to for advice or wisdom, would you be surprised that many would reply with Winnie the Pooh? There is something to be said for the wisdom found in Winnie the Pooh quotes.

Winnie the Pooh has long been a favorite character for children the world over. They have always known him to be a source of wisdom and a special sort of insight, even if they didn’t realize it. In the last thirty years though, Winnie the Pooh has become more and more widely recognized among adults, particularly those with a philosophical glint, as a sage ole bear. In his crafting of Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne produced a character with the unassuming tenderness of a child, yet the wiliness of an old master.

The wisdom of Winnie the Pooh shines through so well because it isn’t delivered in grand pontifications as with Rabbit or Owl. It is stated simply as something that just is. Milne is due his credit here because being able to condense and deliver the gist of great Western (and Eastern truly) philosophers through the mouth of a babe like bear without so much as a hint of pretension that so plagues the world of thinkers enables so many more people to ponder the great thoughts of life without being dwarfed by their greatness.

“You can't stay in your corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you; you have to go to them sometimes.” In that quote Pooh captures the essence of the hardscrabble self sufficiency that is the predominant ideal in Western philosophy of the last 300 years or so.

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” It is interesting to note though that Pooh (well Milne actually, but it is nice to think of it as Pooh) is able to present gems from both sides of the philosophical coin without setting them into direct conflict, such as in the above line.

There are literally hundreds of Winnie the Pooh quotes to be found in all the various stories of Pooh and all friends in the 100 Acre Wood. To say which one is my favorite is very difficult but I can say I have found Pooh's wisdom to be very helpful over the years.

I am not saying that Pooh should be heralded as the end all be all when it comes to philosophical ponderings and I know that Milne was not some great originalist with these thoughts, but the synthesis of them all and the light handed approach that has been taken is certainly something that merits consideration when we are deciding how best for us all to share this world together in peace.

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”
Winnie the Pooh
Pooh's Little Instruction Book