Tigger, Eeyore & A Little Heart

Thanks to a blurb from my insightful friend Lora, I posed a similar question that was asked by Randy Pausch. Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore? What are the differences between the two? Who’s happy? Which one struggles? Which one has a heart?



Both of course! Which one uses this?


I referenced a BYU Devotional given in 2002 by the recently passed Joseph B. Wirthlin entitled “Living in Thanksgiving Daily”.

“Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable.”

President Joseph F. Smith proclaimed: “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life. Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man.”

Elder Wirthlin outlines how we can be less Eeyoree-ish, embrace a bit of Tiggerhood and truly living in thanksgiving daily. First we must open our eyes and really see those around us or the little things we take for granted. Secondly, open our hearts with empathy for those around us, whatever their circumstance or personal relationship. I sited Elder Lund’s quote about why and how our hearts end up in the lock box.

“The heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences, both positive and negative. It can be hurt by others. It can be deadened by sin.It can be softened by love. Early in our lives, we learn to guard our hearts. It islike we erect a fence around our hearts with a gate in it. No one can enter that
gate unless we allow him or her to do so.”

The third and final step is to open our arms by serving others. Elder
Holland’s General Conference address this last October, The Ministry of Angels, talks about how we are as earthly angels when we serve one another.

“In times of special need, He sent angels, diving messengers, to bless his
children, reassure them that heaven was always very close and that His help
was always very near.”

“Some of them we walk with and talk with – here, now, every day. Some of them
reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in (his
case), one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than
when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and emotion of people so
good and so pure that angelic is the only work that comes to mind.”

Hopefully, all of us at some point has been touched by an earthly angel; a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, a stranger. Remember how that felt? Were your burdens lifted? Did you find solace where there was sorrow? Joy? Love?

Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

In closing, I would like to use the words of Bro. Wirthlin,

“Don’t wait to start. Open your heats, and open your arms. I promise that as you do so, you will feel greater joy and happiness. Your life will have a new level of meaning. You will forge relationships that will transcend this life and endure through the eternities.”

Phew… glad I survived! Now what am I going to teach for March?