A Teddy Bear Sits in a Puddle: A Tale of Existence
A reflection on existence and the impermanence of all things, as told through the journey of a discarded teddy bear.
A teddy bear sits in a puddle.
The weight of the water soaks into his stuffing and fur.
A stark contrast to the soft, fluffy companion he once was.
Teddy does not think or feel.
He simply exists, being exactly who he's meant to be.
What was teddy's purpose in life?
|Perhaps he was a gift to cheer up a loved one, or a play toy for a child.
But sitting in a puddle was not his purpose.
He was not meant to be here.
He did not put himself in this situation, but he is here anyway.
Eventually, the rain stopped, the puddle dried, and teddy became lighter.
His situation eased, but getting out of it relied on others entirely.
So he sat on the sunken patch of dirt, existing like he always did,
still being exactly who he was meant to be.
How did teddy end up here?
Was he abandoned on purpose?
Was he left behind by accident?
Things teddy did not have the care or comprehension to know.
People walked by, looking, wondering, and asking these questions for him.
Teddy's story - past present and future - is dreamed up by whoever exists in his presence. But teddy isn't even a 'he'. He is an 'it' personified by those who created him and kept him.
Colour fades from Teddy's brown fur, his feet now weathered and worn. Seams slowly unravel and erode as mould envelops his fibres.
Time paired with nature's harsh elements are not kind to teddy.
But he keeps existing, being exactly who he's meant to be.
Time meanders on. The fabric, stuffing and toil that went into his being slowly disintegrates into the earth. The inevitable return to that from which he came.
His purpose outlived, his story unravelled.
But his essence is forever woven into the tapestry of existence.
So the teddy he once was is no more. Even so, he is still existing like he always did, returning to the exact place he had come from, and will always come back to.
Being exactly what he had always been.
The Origin of Creation
I wrote this on a whim. It started with the idea of a teddy bear sitting in a puddle and the story grew organically from there. The deep meaning and connection to our existence seemed to emerge on its own. I just sunk myself deep into the feeling of it and wrote the words out from there.
Can you identify with teddy’s story? Do you think any of it rings true? I don’t know but there are certainly intriguing ideas in there to ponder. Let me know in the comments!
Welcome to My Substack! My Name is Tania.
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When I read your story, there's a word that popped out to me and that is: decay. Everything here will decay and for a teddy bear that we often perceive as cute, that's a sad visualization. Also, it's interesting to see how a piece of fabric can bring so much meaning to us.
Thought-provoking, Tania! It made me ponder about how interesting humans are that we create backstories for inanimate objects (and people/situations), creating sense and meaning out of everything. It makes us pretty unique.