The whole family went to the Alliance Theatre this afternoon to see their 50th anniversary production of Winnie-the-Pooh. The audience was close to three quarters young folks and, while a bit noisy at times, it was fun watching the play through their eyes. And I was reacquainted with the wonderful simplicity and innocence of Pooh. One of my favorite exchanges:
"We'll be friends forever, won't we Pooh?" asked Piglet.
"Even longer," Pooh answered.
Forever is an unsettling idea when you tend to measure the value and quality of life by its length. But when you focus on the width of your life, you open a new dimension without limits. A channel through which you can pack so much joy and meaning into each and every day that the idea of forever is transformed into something magical. A measure that is both infinite and can be experienced compacted into each and every moment of our lives. Pooh and his colleagues in the Hundred Acre Wood are far smarter than most give them credit for. And that is what has always made them special to generation after generation.