brannen

“Tell me,” said Bear, “How do I get there from here?”
“Well,” said Tristan, “Do you know where there is?”
“No,” said Bear. “All I know is, I can no longer stay here. I want to get to the other side of the river or over the mountain or beyond these trees.”
Tristan stared long and hard at Bear before replying.
“Don’t just go looking for grass that is greener or trees that are taller simply because you think that will be better. Think about what you want and then figure out if the best place for you is here or elsewhere.”
“But, how on earth do you do that?” piped up Squirrel who always had a very, very, very hard time minding his own business.
Even though Tristan generally had no patience with Squirrel, she replied without a single note of annoyance in her voice, for when she awoke that morning, she had promised herself to glide through the day on a cloud of Zen-like calm.
“First you must be honest and true as you look deep within yourself. As you question and probe, be open to your feelings and your emotions. It won’t all be pretty, but it won’t all be ugly either. There will be some discovery and some confirmation. And once you’ve decided where you want to go, you map out a plan.”
“But bears are hopless at planning,” sighed Bear. “I could never do that, and besides…”
Tristan interupted Bear quickly. “If there is one thing I can’t stand it is a ‘never’ and a ‘can’t.”
“Errrr, that would be two things,” chimed in Squirrel. “Well, you know, technically.”
Tristan shook her head and resisted the urge to roll her eyes over and over and over again.
“Yes, Squirrel, technically, but Bear needs to banish the fear from his heart or ride out his fear, if he decides he really wants to get there from here.”
She turned to Bear and focussed her intense gaze on him.
“If there is where you need to be then you have to make your way there. You just start, you figure it out along the way. Sometimes by yourself, sometimes with help from friends, and sometimes with the kindness of angels disguised as strangers. It won’t happen quickly. It might be long and slow and as you go, you learn and learn and learn along the way. And at some point the answers start to come and you start living your learning.”
Bear stared at Tristan who was now tossing a ball up and down with her right hand.
“You are so wise Tristan,” said Bear. And all the animals who were lurking in the grass and hiding in the trees silently listening in on their conversation, couldn’t help but agree.