A Favourite Haiku, Rabbit

Translated from Japanese, this Haiku is one of my favourites. It puts me in mind of Harriet, my rabbit friend and companion as well those special bunnies that lived before her and shared their lives with me.

There is much written about the shamanic belief of power animals; animal spirits that dwell within an individual. Power animals are said to provide guidance and personal strength by lending the attributes for which they are known to the individual.

My relationship with rabbit goes back to early childhood when I was fortunate to live next door to an expanse of land known to the neighbourhood children as 'the bush'. On this particular occasion, I was about five years old and sitting unattended beside a creek (the word 'creek' is an exaggeration, nonetheless it was indeed a small flow of water) when I was struck with the feeling of being watched.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder and I saw the most beautiful white rabbit starring back at me. We held each others attention for a long moment before this amazing creature turned and hopped away into a more densely treed area. My first experience of rabbit occurred alongside my first experience of joy. The memory was etched in my mind with such intensity that rabbit became my power animal long before the concept of power animals came to light in my world.

Given that hares are not typically considered powerful animals, one may think it unhelpful for an individual to carry this particular energy. A typical, unschooled translation of rabbit energy is 'fearful, nervous and/or easily frightened.' Nothing could be further from the truth. Although exhibiting a certain cautious awareness, rabbit/hares wisdom provides:

Living by one’s own wits
Receiving hidden teachings and intuitive messages
Quick-thinking

Paradox and contradiction
Guile

Humility
Moving through fear
Strengthening intuition

Source: Animal Spirits

Harriet (pictured above) is a Holland lop-eared rabbit. She's lived with us for the past three years, after her predecessor, Mennohav, died of pneumonia. Harriet is house trained and very clean. She eats protein pellets, timothy hay and all our vegetable scraps. She loves to cuddle and hates getting her nails cut almost as much as I hate cutting them.