Most of us probably aren’t at the point where roadblocks (or, in this case, streamblocks) require effortless action from us however, the more we practice, as Charles Duhigg taught us in The Power of Habit, the stronger our willpower muscles become, and thus, the abler we are at reacting congruously the next time we’re tested. Water responds to What’s There with effortless action'” (157). This point that Hoff makes, about how boring streams would be without rocks or curves, he then expands upon later in the book, explaining to Pooh and Piglet that “‘When a stream comes to some stones in its path, it doesn’t struggle to remove them, or fight against them, or think about them. But what matters about problems is what one does with them. Without problems, there can be no personal growth, no group achievement, no progress for humanity. Without difficulties, life would be like a stream without rocks and curves–about as interesting as concrete. And because Eeyores are so busy complaining about everything under the sun (versus being thankful for being under the sun), they not only miss the good things that happen to them, they are unable to bear the bad things. And the more negative reality one nurtures and creates, the more of it one has” (57). And further: “Eeyores are Realists, they say. They believe the negative but not the positive and are so obsessed with What’s Wrong that the Good Things in Life pass them unnoticed” (59-60). Anyone who’s read (or viewed) any scene of Winnie-the-Pooh that contains Eeyore, knows that he is first and foremost a complainer. So what can we learn from little Piglet and the other Pooh characters? Let’s just see… And something, we might add, that the individual who possesses it may be quite unaware of–as is the case with Piglet through most of the Pooh stories” (23). Hoff explains that the meaning of Te (pronounced DEH) is “ virtue in action” and that it is a “quality of special character, spiritual strength, or hidden potential unique to the individual–something that comes from the Inner Nature of things. In The Te of Piglet we learn how even the most unsure individuals have great potential, which means that we can all achieve great things, we just have to react to the Universe in a constructive way. In The Tao of Pooh we were introduced to some of the figures of the Hundred Acre Wood like Owl, Rabbit, and–of course–Pooh in that book we learn some of the benefits of following the Way ( Tao) of Pooh and some cautionary tales about how other characters believe and behave. Both books’ purpose is to explain Taoism (and its benefits to humanity and the world) through the familiar characters of A.A.

Summary: The Te of Piglet is a follow-up book to author Benjamin Hoff’s original work The Tao of Pooh.

The te of piglet