We live in a semi-country neighborhood. We are in what is called "the county"......not part of any city. Everyone here has more than half an acre and some way more. In the last years, a development to our north has been trying to get started building homes on an acre or more. However, with the economy and all, things are slow going. But a couple of years ago they plowed under the lush field and added the infra-structure of streets and power and water. You cannot possibly imagine how much wildlife lived in that field.
The number of bunnies alone is stunning. Well, now that there is no brush, no trees, no hole to hide in, the bunnies have moved to our neighborhood. There are literally dozens of bunnies out in the morning on the way to take the kids to school. They seem to have adapted to the home bushes and holes under porches and clubhouses just fine.
But I have learned a lesson. Bunnies are dumb. Really cute, but not too smart. First of all, they go hopping right in front of the car back and forth.....all scattering from wherever they were eating by the road...as soon as a car is going by. This creates a bunny maze. Now, I do know that the scattering and zig zagging is a survival skill when a coyote or fox or mountain lion comes around. Even works for owls, hawks and eagles. It's not so good when it comes to cars. And what's strange is that never seem to learn.
We had a dog get hit by a car once......and only once........she lived and she never went in that road again. She learned by her mistake.
Well, the other way that bunnies protect themselves is by being very still, pretending to be invisible. And sometimes that works. This morning on the way to school, one bunny opted for this survival technique. Right in the middle of the road. It's not like a bunny can blend in to the asphalt. That does work near the bushes. But right in the middle of the road with the big green van bearing down, this bunny froze. I got very close and stopped before the bunny went hopping off to safety. Dumb bunny.
But I'm kind of like those bunnies. Way back somewhere in life, I learned ways to survive. They became a part of me. I carry them with me as habits and traditions. They are what I fall back on when I am frightened or angry. But some of those habits don't work in the world I live in now. Throwing myself down on the floor kicking and screaming at work will not get me a free pass to a raise, but it might get me a pass to lock-up. Using put downs to make others look worse and I can look better might have worked with siblings, but it certainly doesn't work within a grown-up setting. The silent treatment works ok if you are four, but at this point in life, I am responsible for building AND maintaining relationships. There's nobody else around to fix relational problems but me. No mama or daddy to complain to (at least, I hope not by this stage). No teacher to punish so and so for hurting my feelings. Nobody gets sent to the corner because they didn't treat me fairly. Life has changed. And I have to change. I have to grow up. I have to learn.
But like the bunnies, when I get really scared, I tend to revert back to things that worked so well in childhood. Only in an adult world, it just makes things worse. I have to adapt. I have to think. I have to pray. I have to seek the right answer for each situation. I have to forge new paths. And when I do, I find that life really is more pleasant than I remembered.....even in the midst of the hard times.
Don't be a dumb bunny. Learn new habits. Better ways. Don't let your fear trap you in past behaviors.
blessings,
rhonda
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