In the Moment...

As I am want to do, I went for a run this morning. I went to the park behind my apartment, where there is a trail that makes a loop that is just about a mile long (this makes judging distance much easier). It is a wonderful trail that goes beside the green, well kept grass of soccer fields and then into the underbrush and band of trees that line the Potomac River. On one of my trips around the circuit, I came to a spot where I saw Rabbit nibbling on some grass. He looked at me, paused a moment, and then darted into the thicket. As I passed by where he had disappeared, I said a friendly hello and continued on my way.

When my next trip around the trail brought me back to that same spot, there was Rabbit, just hanging out munching on his sweet grass. Again, he looked at me, paused, and then hightailed it into the dense underbrush. "Poor fella", I thought, "I'm disturbing him." I tried to send him a message that was something along the lines of "I come in peace" but I didn't think he was in the mood.

Once again I traversed the cycle that the trail provided and, once again, there was Rabbit. He was just as calm as could be, trying to finish his meal. As in the other times, he looked and then ran away. As I went past, the thought occurred to me that this rabbit was just living in the moment. He was able to put the past behind him and go about his daily routine as soon as the danger he perceived was gone. He didn't worry about what had brought this monster into his world and he didn't worry what would happen if this giant, lumbering thing came back. What an amazing way to live! No baggage from the past to haunt me and no worries for the future. All I would have to do is be open to the present moment and anything that it might bring.

On my last time around the loop, I figured Rabbit would be gone since I had finally received the message that he had worked so hard to pass on to me. Imagine my surprise when I rounded the corner and saw that my friend, Rabbit, had come back and, just to ensure that I got the message, he had brought his friend Deer. I had to laugh when I saw that. "I got it...I got it," I said as I went past. I continued on my way home with a lighter heart and an uplifted mind.

Quite the lesson that Rabbit taught me...but, then, it is only right as I was born in the year of Rabbit