Sunday, September 26, 2010

befuddling times and better times for my friend Margaret

Human beings are peculiar sometimes; I do not think I shall ever understand why they make things so complicated for themselves. Perhaps I should explain.

My human being, Margaret, is a good person, but sometimes she takes herself too seriously. Apparently this is something that a lot of humans do, and they continue to do it until they figure out that they simply aren't enjoying life very much. I am happy to write that she has finally figured that out for herself and is smiling again. For the past while she was getting those little lines between her eyebrows that let me know she is thinking very far-away, difficult things. At times like those, a teddy knows he must watch over his human being very closely. That is why I have not written anything for awhile. 

Margaret is smart, but sometimes she is not very sensible and she is the first to admit it. I have seen how she immerses herself in whatever she does--as many human beings do--but forgets there are other things she should think about, too: friends, enjoying a sunny day, singing and dancing (I enjoy it most when Margaret dances to music in the living room...she is like the little girl I knew all those years ago, smiling and carefree). We had a conversation in which I pointed out to her that she seemed sad all the time and there were so many reasons why that should not be so. When I asked her what some of the good things in her life were, she frowned for a moment, then thought for a moment, and came up with a lot of grand reasons for smiling.

She knows that sometimes the more sensible thing to do when life seems difficult is to not get all befuddled by it. Sometimes human beings must remember that difficult times are usually not around for very long, that bad times usually turn back into better ones... 

...and sometimes it just takes a scruffy old bear to remind them.

Now, since Margaret seems to be on the mend again, I shall settle down for a nice long nap.

I think I have earned it.

Monday, September 13, 2010

growing up, befuddlements, and other things...

It has been some time since I had a chance to write in this blog. You see, as a teddy bear with a human being to watch over, my work keeps me very busy in a way most human beings may not understand, and watching over my friend Margaret occupies most of my time. 

Perhaps I should explain a few things...

A teddy is responsible for "being there", a thing which most humans do understand. It simply means that even if one is not able to actually do something for another, the knowledge that a friend is close by is enough. I think Margaret has been very glad that I have been there for her because she has been growing up a lot in recent weeks and whether a human being is growing up as a child or doing so as an adult, it is a thing better done with a friend nearby.

I was concerned for her for awhile (teddy bears never worry--we are concerned, you see). There are family issues, matters important to Margaret alone, and matters of the world which have worried her and I have had to remind her of the goodness around her. Sometimes human beings need that, and teddies are very good at offering such reminders. I believe Margaret would have come to see those things in her own time, but I thought it would be nice to help her see those good things a little sooner.

She later told me I did the right thing.

One of the many things in the world of human beings which befuddle me is the way that human beings worry so much--yes, befuddling, indeed. Worry does not accomplish anything and only makes itself worse the more a human being thinks about it. Margaret has told me that worry is sometimes a good thing, because it helps a human being decide how important a troubling thing is before they act upon it. I am still uncertain if I agree with her, but she has told me that is okay, that I should decide in my own time.

In my desire to become real as my hero, Velveteen Rabbit, did, I try very hard to understand how human beings think and that is a very difficult thing to do. They place importance upon things which I do not understand, which do not seem important to me, but Margaret tells me that same befuddlement is shared by many human beings, too. I do not understand unkindness, or the way people hurt each other, or war, or untruthfulness, and apparently a lot of human beings feel the same way, too, and that feeling happens all over the world.

I am only one scruffy old teddy bear, and I realize there are human beings who would not understand a teddy bear's way of looking at the world, but it seems to me that if human beings all over the world would slow down a little, take more notice of each other, sit down once a day with a plate of freshly-baked cookies and a glass of cold milk, and take a nice, long nap every day, that this would be a much nicer place to live for everyone.

That is what I think, anyway.

Now, Margaret is busy and does not need me quite so much today, so I think I shall take one of those nice, long naps. I am a very sleepy bear today.