Don't Look at the Rabbit

A Personal Story

When I was a teenager, I would go hunting with my father.  Jim was my step-father, but since I did not know my own father, he was like my real father.  I didn’t know the difference.

Our hunting was only small game like dove, quail, and rabbit.  We went mostly bird hunting but if the opportunity to shoot a rabbit came, we took it.  A side note; never eat a jack rabbit.  You only want cottontail rabbits if you are going to hunt them.

My Intended Victim

I took every opportunity to shoot rabbits if I had it until one day when we were hunting quail.  Out in the desert, I learned to look at the landscape as I walked.  My inclination as a novice hunter was to stare at the ground in front of me but Jim gently made me look ahead.  I could not see the birds if I was looking down.  He said my feet will find the way.

On this particular day, we were separated as usual, as we walked the desert looking for our prey.  We never walked side by side.  By walking with space between us we could cover more ground.  Looking ahead, I found a rabbit and it ran away from me.  I took a shot but missed, so I pursued the critter.

I was using a shotgun and should not have missed but I was still learning to lead my target when I aimed.  When I aimed and shot at a bird or rabbit, I would aim where they were and not where they would be so when the shot from my gun got there, my intended victim would be gone.

My Heart Broke

But today, when I chased the rabbit, I wore it out and caught it under a shrubby tree.  This time it would not escape.  I looked down at it and saw its eyes.  It looked up at me and that is when it happened.  My compassion was kindled.

Here was the prey I was hunting.  It would be dinner for my family depending on the recipe.  But as I looked into its eyes, I saw a trapped and frightened creature.  And while I had the power to shoot it and take it home, I could not.  My heart broke for the victim in front of me, so I let it go.

My Compassion

When my dad asked what happened to the rabbit, I explained that I let it go.  Jim understood without me saying that I had looked into the rabbit’s eyes and my compassion let it escape.  He said to me, “Don’t look at the rabbit.”

Jim was a kind and understanding man, so his words did not mean for me to be a heartless person, but when hunting, I needed to avoid making eye contact and drawing up my emotions for the creature before me, so that we could bring food home for the family.  In the lesson Jim taught me, I learned how to turn off, and on, my compassion.

Place of Peace

Compassion is needed in the world today, but it is being turned off by things in our lives.

Technology for one, keeps us mesmerized into avoiding the eyes of the people around us.  How many times have you entered a room full of people and they are all looking at their phones or laptops?

I used to live in Hawaii and while walking down Waikiki, there were so many people, I stopped looking at each one.  All of us walked past each other while ignoring the life right next to us.

Lately, another tool has been employed to keep us from turning on our compassion.  It is social activism.  Yes, there are many needs today that we should address and find a way to correct, but social justice warriors are often more interested in making their point than being compassionate with their fellow human beings.  I have experienced firsthand how divisive a SJW can be, when, if they tried to be gentle and understanding we could have arrived at a mutual place of peace and I would have learned in the process.

No One is Listening

It is so easy to avoid people.  In the busyness of our lives, no one stops to look at you and we have stopped looking at others.  We should be scared at how easy it is to look away when we ought to be connecting with those around us.  The result is that our compassion is either dimmed or turned off.

We need to be looking at people.  I don’t mean we should look at every single person in the eyes, but we need to connect with those in our lives and allow our compassion to grow and flow from us.  Like you, there are people in your life that have ups and downs.  People are carrying pain they are afraid to share because no one is listening.  They are also carrying joy and often need to express a beautiful experience to others.

Read the Need

An example of compassion was my father-in-law.  He was the president of a company but knew every person he worked with, including the guys on the dock.  He knew every team member and everything about their family.  Daily, he showed his compassion and his crew loved him for it.

Let us turn off our distractions and turn on our compassion, and start caring about our fellow humans.  Can you read the need in someone’s eyes?

If you care to read it, I have included below what Jesus Christ thinks about compassion.

What the Bible Says

The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’  Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46