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    The Joyful Bear: A Furry Philosophy for Overcoming Adversity and Finding Happiness
    The Joyful Bear: A Furry Philosophy for Overcoming Adversity and Finding Happiness
    The Joyful Bear: A Furry Philosophy for Overcoming Adversity and Finding Happiness
    Ebook152 pages1 hour

    The Joyful Bear: A Furry Philosophy for Overcoming Adversity and Finding Happiness

    By Margaret Meps Schulte

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    About this ebook

    Faced with a devastating case of writer’s block, Margaret Meps Schulte turns to a 25-year friend, a stuffed polar bear with an upturned gaze and a beatific smile. Frank Lloyd Bear, known as Frankie, conducts a series of conversations with her about mindfulness, self-compassion, and how to overcome depression and anxiety. The result is this unusual true story, co-written by the wise-but-funny Frank Lloyd Bear. Frankie’s guidance brings Meps out of her funk and gives her the confidence to become an author, artist, and public speaker. Presenting important life lessons with gentle humor, Frankie introduces the reader to his enlightened teddy-bear value system and explains concepts like Being, Right Speech, the importance of changing your mind, and what you can do with your magic superpower.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMargaret Meps Schulte
    Release dateJan 3, 2018
    ISBN9780991607679
    The Joyful Bear: A Furry Philosophy for Overcoming Adversity and Finding Happiness
    Author

    Margaret Meps Schulte

    Margaret Meps Schulte, known as 1meps, is the US expert in how to talk to strangers. Her wanderlust lifestyle has included a 33-foot junk-rigged sailboat, Flutterby, and a 7,000 pound van called The Squid Wagon. Meps considers Seattle her home, but admits that she falls in love with every place where she spends at least two weeks.She's not afraid of public speaking or public art, having painted large-scale murals and illustrated her own book. She's extremely capable with fiberglass and 2-part polyurethane paint, once built a 6-foot rowboat, and survived appendicitis at Burning Man. She has written hundreds of blogs, limericks, and grocery lists, and is currently working on a book of teddy bear philosophy with a soft, furry co-author named Frank Lloyd Bear.A former business analyst, knowledge manager, and systems integrator, she departed the corporate world in 2003 by "jumping off the cliff." She loves helping others find their wings and is always delighted to hear from her readers.

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    • 3/5
      Very cute. I'm not sure how helpful this book is to me personally with its chapters of advice, but I did find the drawings adorable and the friendship with a personal teddy bear very sweet. I am a "fuzzy animal person" and have used a stuffed koala bear as a "get well bear" for our kids when they were young. Now my grandson and I visit Bo Bear, a pink teddy bear, which sits out-of-doors on the bow of a neighbor's boat during any of our visits to the local playground.

    Book preview

    The Joyful Bear - Margaret Meps Schulte

    The

    Joyful

    Bear

    A Furry Philosophy

    for Overcoming Adversity

    and Finding Happiness

    Margaret Meps Schulte

    with Frank Lloyd Bear

    Illustrated by Margaret Meps Schulte

    Choose Art logo

    CHOOSE ART

    The Joyful Bear

    Disclaimer: Some events and characters described in this book are real, and some are fictitious. The purpose of this memoir is to entertain. The author and Choose Art shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this book.

    If you do not wish to be bound by the above, you may return this book to the publisher for a full refund.

    ©2016 Margaret Meps Schulte

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

    Published by Choose Art Books: 1meps.com/chooseartbooks. Also available in print edition.

    ISBN 978-0-9916076-6-2

    Cover design, illustration, and photography by Margaret Meps Schulte. Interior design and illustration by Margaret Meps Schulte.

    Images and representations of Snuffes/Frank Lloyd Bear ©2016 Enesco, LLC, through its GUND division, used with permission.

    frontispiece20033777.tifphoto-frontispiece-pink-3887.tif

    Top: Frank Lloyd Bear sailing in the San Juan Islands, Washington, 2003.

    Bottom: Precious and Frank Lloyd Bear in Santa Clara, California, 2014.

    Dedication

    To the memory of my brother,

    Frank Christopher Schulte

    Little Chris

    March 23, 1958–March 11, 1959

    &

    To every stuffed bear, dog, cat, horse, pig, snake, and unidentifiable critter who has ever been donated to a thrift store. I am sorry that I cannot take all of you home! To assuage my guilt, I dedicate this little book to you.

    Contents

    Why we wrote this book

    1. Book

    2. Kids

    3. Writing

    4. Before

    5. Arrival

    6. Hugging

    7. Loving

    8. Speaking

    9. Listening

    10. Size

    11. Air

    12. Trust

    13. Flight

    14. Joy

    15. Being

    16. Snow

    17. Change

    18. Friend

    19. Precious

    20. Two-fer

    21. Emergency

    22. Network

    23. Naps

    24. Travel

    25. Photos

    26. Fear

    27. Fort

    28. Aging

    29. Miracle

    30. Reincarnation

    31. Truth

    Resources and Further Reading

    Introduction:

    Why We Wrote This Book

    The co-author of this book is a teddy bear.

    Frank Lloyd Bear, who is both wise and opinionated, believes that teddy bears are not just for kids. Adults can learn a lot from teddy bears.

    You can learn what it feels like to love and be loved unconditionally. You can learn to practice mindfulness. You can learn how to face life’s challenges and overcome adversity by living in the present moment.

    Frank Lloyd Bear may not be able to type, because his paws are too chubby, but he’s no dummy. He is dedicated to making the world a better place, and he believes this stuff is important.

    Frankie’s approach to life is simple: With gentle humor, he strips away what’s unnecessary and looks for the truth. He doesn’t need complexity. He doesn’t even know what complexity is, and he’s happier for it.

    How does someone who’s only ten inches tall and stuffed get a book published?

    Frank Lloyd Bear had a little help. His partner-in-crime, Margaret Meps Schulte, is the award-winning author of Strangers Have the Best Candy. The two of them have been together for over twenty years. In addition to living on land, in houses and apartments, they’ve lived on sailboats. They’ve traveled together for months at a time, driving on the back roads of the U.S. and sleeping in a tent. They’ve talked to many strangers.

    Meps is a firm believer in the teddy bear philosophy she’s learned from the expert, Frank Lloyd Bear.

    She was halfway through writing Strangers Have the Best Candy when she hit something much worse than garden-variety writer’s block. She fell into a deep, unshakable depression.

    At the time, living aboard a 33-foot sailboat, doing a refit in a remote area, Meps didn’t have access to resources like therapists or even antidepressants. She turned to the one thing that had helped in the past: Her kind, loving, understanding teddy bear.

    Eventually, after a few days, she brought her laptop into the tiny forward cabin, the little fiberglass cave that the two of them had claimed as their hideout. As she regained her equilibrium, she started writing again.

    She began working, not on the book she had set aside, but on the one you hold in your hands. After Frank Lloyd Bear helped her break through depression and writer’s block, Meps wanted to share his quirky wisdom with the world.

    If you’ve ever had a bad day, this book is for you. If you’ve ever argued with a loved one or struggled with depression, anxiety, or writer’s block, it’s for you. If you’ve ever grieved, this book is for you.

    The Joyful Bear is a book for people who seek peace and happiness and contentment. It’s for people looking for more joy in their lives. Frankie and Meps wrote it together, especially for you.

    "I like sunshine and birds,

    and I think life is good."

    Frank Lloyd Bear

    1frankie-books.tif

    1. Book

    I am sitting on the edge of my bed, crying and holding my teddy bear, Frankie. He’s a chubby white bear with big black eyes, and he is looking adoringly up at me like he

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