I came across an unexpected coping strategy yesterday. As I was walking my dog, Pixie, I saw something rolling on the path ahead. At first I thought it was a cat having some fun, but when the animal continued to roll on its back, I realised that the creature was having trouble righting itself.
Once I had tied Pixie to a fence, I went over to investigate. It was a rabbit that, I suspected, had been hit by a car. Although there was no obvious injury, one or more of its legs must have been hurt.
Taking off my jumper, I wrapped the poor creature up and held it firmly in one of my arms. With the other, I carefully released Pixie.
It was a two mile walk to the wildlife rescue centre but we set out on our way, determined to help the creature. I spoke to it in soothing tones and even sang to it, thinking about the way that one of the characters in my book sings to wolves to stop them from attacking. For a while, it seemed to work. The poor creature lost the look of fear in its eyes, became peaceful, closed its eyes and stopped struggling.
Encouraged, we continued on our way until I met a woman putting out her bins. She found a box and we gently we laid the poor creature inside. Then she promised to put it in a safe place and give it every chance to rest and recover.
With nothing more I could do to help, I walked away with tears running down my face, thinking about all the needless suffering of the world. I’d already woken up that day feeling sad. Now I was gutted.
Yet strangely, by the time I arrived back at the car, I felt much lighter. Whether or not the rabbit survived, I had shown it kindness and that kindness had lit me up from the inside. It was like being sprinkled with fairy dust.
So from now on I’m going to add kindness to my coping strategies. The next time I feel down, I’ll show some kindness, to myself and/or others, and watch as its fairy dust turns the world back into the magical place that it is.
Image by Moshehar – Pixabay
