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Thematic Analysis: That Sort of Bear

**Everyone is special** In this chapter, Hoff concentrates on the specialness and uniqueness of each individual. Because one is special and unique, one enjoys life and becomes special. But at often times, no matter how useful or special one might be, it takes a while to recognize one's own value. For example, in the book, the Chinese story of the Stonecutter explains the basic concepts. One day, there was a stonecutter, who was dissatisfied with their lives. So he wanted to become a wealthy merchant and became one. Later he envied the high official and became one. Then, he envied the sun and became one. After that, he envied the cloud and became one. Later on he envied the wind and became one. Then, he envied the stone and became one. At last, he thought about what could possibly be stronger than a stone, so he became a stonecutter. This story shows how hard it is to find one's significant value.

**Believe in yourself** In this chapter, Hoff also explains about how one should believe in themselves rather than relying on some kind of supernatural force or fate. If one believes in himself, one can take control of his life and accomplish something of lasting value. By simply believing the power that is within oneself, one will use it, which will make things to work for oneself. For example, the story of Buckminster Fuller and Thomas Edison both tells us how successful one can be if they just believe in themselves. Even though Edison's formal education was very short, he had a plan, no matter how hard it will be. Later, he became one of the most important historical figure in the past and will be recognized for centuries because he developed a lot of things.

**Tz'u: "caring" or "compassion"** This is one important terms of Taoism and it is based upon the character for heart. In the 67th chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tse named it as his "first treasure," and said "from caring comes courage." Also, from caring, wisdom comes. If one has no compassion, then one has no wisdom. They might have knwoledge and cleverness, but they don't have the wisdom. For example, Piglet said "Kanga isn't clever, but she would be so anxious about Roo that she would do a Good Thing to Do without thinking about it."

**Tiddely-Pom Principle** This principle is often called as the Snowball Effect, another song by Pooh. The more it snows (Tiddely pom), The more it goes (Tiddely pom), The more it goes (Tiddely pom), On snowing. This means that when we make a move on something, it'll continue to grow like a snowball, which gets bigger and bigger. This principle might be good or bad depending on how well one handles it. You have to work for yourself and for the benefit of others. With Tiddely-Pom Principle, you have to respect others to build respect. The more it snows, the more it goes.  Picture URL http://www.zianet.com/demisque/ChristmasBookmarks.htm http://disney-clipart.com/winnie-the-pooh/Pooh-Friends-Clipart.php