06/01/2026
When Pooh got stuck in a hole (after eating too much honey), he simply waited till he’d shrunk enough to crawl out. Moral? Sometimes doing nothing is the best response to a problem. And sometimes we need to make an effort to break free - and sometimes it’s a bit of both.
When we’re ‘stuck’ like Pooh, it’s often through a seemingly immovable obstacle, reluctance to change direction, or unresolvable conflict that brings us to a standstill and state of anxious confusion. But if we can gently hold onto the blockage and discomfort - within ourselves as vessel - surrender, wait and endure the uncertainty and tension, eventually fate intervenes to rescue us from the dilemma of apparently irreconcilable, alternative paths. Or an unforeseen ‘third’ path unexpectedly emerges. Or we simply outgrow the conflict, or it becomes no longer important to us.
Soul’s journey, in other words, is not only about treading our path, but also about knowing when not to act, when to keep still, draw upon our reserves of inner nourishment (like Pooh), conserve energy and await the right time for movement.
So when you next find yourself stuck in a hole like Pooh, it may be an 'opportunity in adversity’, an invitation to deepen into life and expand your horizons - through the shrinking that gifts you with greater patience, fluidity and ‘lightness of being’.
Maureen B. Roberts, PhD www.psychiatrywithsoul.com
