I was recently reminded of the Little Bear series of early reader books. Written by Else Holmelund Minarikhe, the first of the series was published in 1957 and featured illustrations by Maurice Sendak (of Where the Wild Things Are fame.) The books feature a bear cub, his family, and his animal friends, all of whom love and care for each other with warmth and affection. The stories use simple words and sentence structure as young readers identify with Little Bear’s curiosity, imagination, and friendliness. His mild mishaps are met by those in his circle with understanding. There are thirty-four Little Bear books, the last of which was published in 2010, just two years before the death of the author.
The very first story in the series is set on a wintry day. Little Bear, playing outside, decides that he is cold and repeatedly comes inside to ask his mother for something warmer to wear. She lovingly knits him a hat, then makes him a coat, and finally provides him with snow pants. When he is still says that he is cold, Little Bear’s mother asks if he would like a fur coat, to which he enthusiastically responds, “Yes.” Mother Bear then gently removes the pants, coat, and hat to reveal that he was always wearing his own natural fur coat. The young cub is delighted and discovers that he is now warm enough to play outside.
This simple story has a lesson for us older readers, one that I explore in my memoir, Life Hikes: Walking Through Loss to What Come After. We, like Little Bear, are called to realize that we already possess all that we need.
Our inner strength and compassion for ourselves has always been a part of our being. We just need eyes to see it clearly. Yes, roadblocks such as trauma, mental illness, or myriad of life’s circumstances can cloud that inner knowing. And not all persons get to the point of seeing this truth within their lifetimes. What does it take to discover this lesson?
Why do so many of us look outside ourselves for the validation that we are lovable?
Like Little Bear’s request of his mother, we want more. We’re not happy enough, fulfilled enough, excited enough. So we go looking for what we think will bring us what we seek. We thinks that perhaps it can be found in new objects: a car, a second home, jewelry. Perhaps we desire recognition, so we try to find that with a promotion, a higher paying job, or a starring role in an endeavor. Perhaps we seek to be loved and cared for so completely by another that we don’t have to think about ourselves.
Only by being conscious that we are already loved, recognized, and cared for by the Divine can we then understand that what we need is already available to us. If the Divine dwells within each of us, and I personally believe this to be true, and the Divine loves us, then it stands that we can and should love ourselves. Not in a selfish way, but in a way that honors our inner knowing, the Divine spark that was set there at our birth.
That all sounds a little woo woo and airy-fairy, I know, but I truly believe that we all have what we need to live a fruitful, meaningful life, drawing on the resources within ourselves. Those in our society who cannot see their own worth or have too many barriers to see it for themselves should be able to lean on those of us who have made that realization. For if the Divine lives in all of us, isn’t it up to each of us to shine our light on the Divine that dwells within our neighbors?