Honestly it felt a little contrived this morning when Rabbit showed up in my meditation. After all we are approaching Easter and Rabbit showed up last year at this time. Just too obvious. And yet, Thumper, who visited me last year insisted I write,write, write. And of course I did.
Here’s what Thumper had to share with us today.
Thumper: “If you are often looking for what to be afraid of you will not notice the sweet flowers and grasses just waiting to be enjoyed (eaten in my case).
If you lose yourself in the splendor or joy of the moment what you are afraid of will not find you. (Thumper was munching on sweet clover and little violas)
To help you understand from my perspective, if I am keenly looking for predators in a fearful rather than observant state I will emit an odor of fear that can attract my predators. When I am happily playing and enjoying the bounty of spring there is less chance the predator will notice me. I think this would be good for you humans…play more and pay less attention to the predators…you will attract less of them.
When I actually see or sense a predator (my senses are very keen) I freeze so as not to be noticed. I don’t run from them as that would only encourage them to chase. This may or may not work for me. If I have fooled the predator I am safe. If I have not, I quickly leave my body and become food for the other. My Spirit, my essence, lives on.
For humans, when your fear stops you in your tracks, do not run from it. Wait quietly to see if the threat is real or imagined. You may find that it disappears. The predator is not your enemy. It is the fear that gets you in trouble as you imagine many possible outcomes. You can do like I do and simply wait and then resume your play.”
Wendy: But Thumper, don’t you think that letting fear stop you is a bad thing? I mean if I let fear rule me then wouldn’t that stop me from moving forward in my life? Wouldn’t I miss out on lots of fun and exciting opportunities?
Thumper: It is not fear that stops me, it is the presence of the predator. There is a difference. It is important for me to stop long enough to recognize what is threatening and then to move on once I know what it is and the threat is gone. You need to look at what scares you. You have to be still to do this. If you are running you will not know what you are truly running from. And then you need to go back to enjoying the splendor of all things beautiful that surround you.
Wendy: That really makes sense to me. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom.
Thumper’s advice reminds me of my favorite acronym about FEAR. False Evidence Appearing Real. We tend to make up a lot of stories about what might or might not happen in our future and that can spin us into uncomfortable states of fear. By staying with what we know to be true (and it’s usually a lot less than you think is true) we can stay in the present moment and out of fear. And if there is something that we need to be cautious about we can do so looking it straight on and not from out the rear view mirror as we speed away.
Interesting and insightful. Thanks Thumper and Wendy for sharing.
Very timely. I had 3 rabbits appear all at once in my front yard the other day. Now you might think – so? However, it was rather unusual. So I took note and observed. And it went right along the lines of Wendy’s post. Sometimes, we need a little reminder of what life is all about!