Takeaways from Christopher Robin movie

Every year during the month of November, the church that I attend does a series where movies are used to provide examples and metaphors of the Word. This week's particular movie was "Disney's Christopher Robin". As I was in church, watching this message and movie, it spoke to me given the number of changes that were taking place in my life.

SPOILER ALERT: I do mention scenes from the movie. So if you have not watched the movie yet and hate spoilers, go watch the movie before reading this article.

Things That I Got From This Movie

Doing Nothing Often Leads To The Very Best Of Something

Picture a tree in a forest. That tree seed landed on the ground and took root. Usually there’s nothing any human has to do as the tree will be able to sustain itself unless something else takes place like a natural disaster (flood, forest fire) or human intervention (land clearing, improper trimming of tree). By nobody doing anything to that tree, the tree is able to provide oxygen for mammals to breathe, habitat for the animals of the forest, and shade to the animals and humans that visit the forest. This is a quote that is repeated many times in the movie. Majority of the movie, Christopher Robin spends time trying to work on making efficiency improvements for his employer. Then at the end of the movie, he took one look at the paper his daughter handed him upside down and he came up with the best idea for cutting company costs. Sometimes not doing or saying anything, causes God or others to intervene on our behalf. Think of this as not repaying evil with evil.

When You Get Lost, You Need To Reset

There’s a song, called "Holy Ghost Power" by the Chicago Mass Choir. Part of the chorus of that song says "Go back to the altar; Down on your knees; Stay there 'til you get the Holy Ghost power". This is one example of resetting your faith. It is believed that if you go to the altar and pray, that you’ll be renewed and forgiven. Another example of this would be when you lose your keys and you backtrack your steps in order to find them. In the movie, Pooh walked into the tree that Christopher Robin previously lived and ended up in London. Pooh was at this point lost because he did not know where he was. However, Christopher Robin did know where he was, so Christopher Robin took Pooh back to Sussex and onward to the Hundred Acre Wood. In essence, Pooh was reset. By resetting, you are able to go where things are familiar, look at the path that you previously took, and then start a new path knowing that the existing path led you to a bad result.

We Are Not Who We Used To Be. Sometimes We Become Lost

The smartest of people make mistakes. We are all human. When a bridge failure or airplane malfunction occurs, often the maintainers and engineers get the blame. The investigators often go back to the original drawings and design to see if there were any miscalculations, typos, or other errors that were overlooked. Once those errors are identified, they are corrected so that they do not occur again. Whether it be redrawing the bridge or redesigning a component of the plane, it has now become better and it is not what it used to be. In the movie, this was reflected by Christopher Robin going back to the Hundred Acre Wood. Once there and Christopher Robin had to show the other inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood that he was indeed Christopher Robin as they last remembered him being a young boy and not a man. I like to refer to this as "growth and development".

Find What Makes You Happy

In the movie, Christopher Robin and Pooh are at the train station trying to catch the train to take Pooh back home. Pooh sees a balloon stand and says that he wants a balloon. Christopher initially says no but then gives in after Pooh mentions that the balloon will bring him happiness. Getting big things and dreams accomplished do bring us happiness, but sometimes it is the small things that can bring us the most happiness. For me, that would mean being in the presence of others, also known as quality time, that brings the greatest amount of happiness.

Conclusion

Everything happens for a reason. For me, it felt like perfect timing as these takeaway points and more are steps that I need to take to go forward in life.