Why the children's book "Today We're Going on a Bear Hunt" teaches us a profound life lesson

I heard myself saying to myself the other day, “You can’t go over it, you can’t go under it, you have to go through it.”

That’s right, I kinda got the idea from the book Today We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.

I wonder if the author Michael Rosen of this children’s picture book meant to impress this profound life lesson into our little one’s mind.

If you are not familiar with this awards winning book, the story is about several children who decided to go on a bear hunt.

In the first half of the book, it focuses on “going after the bear”. Each page begins with:

We’re going on a bear hunt

We’re going to catch a big one,

What a beautiful day!

We’re not scared.

Then, when they face each obstacle, it reads:

We can’t go over it.

We can’t go under it.

Oh no! We’ve got to go through it!

The children encounter all kinds of tricky situations, from dark forest, cold river, oozy mud to snowstorms, and finally they get to a bear cave.

It is all courageous and optimistic up until this point when they actually find the bear and it runs after them. Needless to say, they got really scared and claim that they would never go for a bear hunt again.

So, no. I don’t think it meant to be an inspirational self-help personal development kind of book after all. I mean if the ultimate response after facing some real challenges in life is to hide under the blanket, we won’t get far or get much life experience, won’t we?

In order to grow, we need to develop our agency in the face of challenges.
You can’t go over it, you can’t go under it, you have to go through it.

Recently I had some unexpected negative experience working with a person. It happened while I was away on holidays with my family. It put a dent on my mood the day when it happened, and I noticed how I was upset about many other little things for no reasons.

Clearly, I wasn’t over it.

I also didn’t want to put it under the carpet and pretend it didn’t happen.
I want to think hard about where is my faulty part in this situation and take full responsibility about that part and then think about what can I do in the future to prevent this from happening again.

A wise woman once taught me even when you believe it is 90% the other person’s fault, you need to think hard about your 10% and own it.

I found the same principle applies to my previous failed relationships, I found gems in discovering and learning from that very 10%.

Whether it is about heartbreaks with relationship, unsuccessful work projects or health challenges. When it comes to things that really matter, we must GO THROUGH IT.

Once we made the decision and commit to doing so, the “how” will come to us.

The infinite intelligence from the universe will give us ideas, insights or inspiration to take the next step. It may be about going inward to self-reflect, or someone will come into our life to guide us through it or a book may simply drop onto our foot in a book store. Believe me, I have heard all kind of stories regarding how the greater mind of the universe communicates. We just need to be open and aware!

So, tell me, are you willing to go on a hunt, perhaps not for bears but other profound treasures in life?

Are you willing to go on a soul adventure?

I talked a lot about Hero/Heroine Journey in my book “Goddess with Many Faces”, they are such soul adventures that lead us to transform our inner and outer world. If you are interested in learning about your own Goddess Archetypes and Heroine Journey, or how to navigate big changes in life, you may like to check out my book here.

Regardless, I wish you all the best on your “bear hunt” and live life to the fullest!

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Why the children’s book “Today We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” teaches us a profound life lesson