The Bunny I Couldn’t Leave Behind

Deedle, the cat (do you hear the Felix the Cat song in your head like I do? I’m aging myself I’m sure) brought me a present today.

It was a baby bunny.

Not exactly the kind of present I was hoping for.

"Deedle! No eating baby bunnies!"

I carefully picked up the tiny little thing and brought her into the house.

She was alive.

But clearly in shock.

Then again...

Having a near-death experience will do that to you.

I held her for a little while and quietly told her she was going to be okay.

At least...

I hoped she was going to be okay.

I found a small box, lined it with soft towels, and gently placed her inside.

It took only a moment before she snuggled into the towels and covered herself.

I put the box inside a dog kennel, covered most of it with a blanket, and left her somewhere warm, dark, and quiet.

And then I started thinking.

Which is usually where I get myself into trouble.

Deedle hadn't done anything wrong.

He's a predator.

That little bunny was prey.

Nature has worked this way for a very, very long time.

Some animals are predators.

Some are prey.

Some are both.

As humans who love animals, it can be incredibly difficult to witness one animal hurt or kill another.

But animals aren't being cruel.

Deedle wasn't hunting that bunny because he was angry with her.

He wasn't punishing her.

He wasn't making a moral decision.

He was being Deedle.

Following instincts that existed long before either of us arrived here.

So how could I be angry with him?

I couldn't.

But then another question appeared.

Should I have interfered?

That's harder.

Nature, in all her wisdom, has been figuring this out for considerably longer than I have.

She doesn't need me managing her.

And lately, I've been trying to learn something from her.

Nature doesn't rush.

She doesn't worry about deadlines.

She doesn't look at the clock and think,

"Oh no. I'm behind."

Spring doesn't panic because summer is coming.

A tree doesn't compare itself to the tree beside it.

Everything unfolds in its own time.

I'm trying to live a little more like that.

To slow down.

To listen.

To let nature set my pace instead of constantly expecting nature to follow mine.

And yet...

There was a baby bunny sitting in a box in my house because I had interrupted nature.

Was that wrong?

I don't know.

I could give you a beautiful spiritual answer about trusting the natural order of things.

But the truth is...

I'm still the woman who saw a terrified baby bunny and said, "Not today."

Maybe someday I'll understand this differently.

At this point in my life, though, if there's a little life in front of me that I can help...

I'm probably going to help.

And I'm okay with that.

The bunny rested for several hours.

Eventually I checked on her.

Her eyes were bright.

Her little body seemed alert.

And most importantly...

She had her hop back.

I carefully checked her for injuries and couldn't find any.

So I carried her outside.

I walked about half a mile away from the house, into the woods, and found a quiet grassy spot.

I gently placed her on the ground.

For a moment, I looked at this tiny little being whose life had unexpectedly collided with mine.

Then I let her go.

"Run free, little bunny."

I walked home still thinking about Deedle.

Still thinking about the bunny.

Still thinking about nature.

And I realized maybe I don't need to resolve the contradiction.

I can respect Deedle's instincts...

And still save the bunny.

I can trust nature...

And still recognize that I'm part of nature too.

Maybe compassion is part of the natural world just as surely as predator and prey.

I don't know whether I was supposed to interfere.

I only know that when a tiny life was placed in my hands...

my heart told me to protect it.

And for now, that's an instinct I'm willing to trust.

You May Be Wondering...

Should we interfere when one animal is harming another?

I don't think there's one answer that fits every situation.

Nature has rhythms and relationships that existed long before us, and I believe there's wisdom in respecting them. At the same time, we're part of the living world too. Sometimes we're presented with an opportunity to help, and we have to listen to our own hearts and decide what feels right in that moment.

I didn't need Deedle to stop being a predator in order to love him.

And I didn't need to understand the entire order of nature before choosing to help one little bunny.

Maybe both can be true.

May you see the world through the eyes of love, remembering that we are all part of one living, sacred whole.