Letters From The Barn: When The Rabbits Escape
The rabbits got out the other day. When I went out to the barn, the hutch door was open. There was one on top, waiting for the butler to come and push the elevator button so she could get back down into her apartment. The other was waiting just outside in the snow, munching hay near the fence. She outsized the wild rabbits probably ten to one. She didn’t run off, but nibbled hay near some wood waiting for me to pick her up. I thought about that.
Are there sometimes we want to be caught? Or, perhaps, protected? Do we run away and get lost, but want someone to come and bring us back to our senses, if not back into the house for a good cup of coffee?
Do you ever feel that way with a friend who’s taken a break for a while? You know they’re off by themselves brooding or maybe, for all you know, rejuvenating. How do you know when it’s time to barge in and bring them back into the friendship and when it’s time to let them stretch their legs for a while or maybe even just curl up and rest at home? Some hibernations are good. Others, a warning sign.
I want to learn to notice when I, myself, am the rabbit longing to be picked up and brought back inside. And, to pay attention in my friends and family for those moments when someone is turning away, but really, hopes that I’ll turn them back. Though, I’m not sure I personally could be brought round with just a handful of hay, some hot coffee might do the trick. Maybe for a friend it might be the occasional call. Not so often as to pester but just often enough to remind them they do have a barn to come back into once they’re ready.
Author: Meriwether O' Connor