So what does one write for the first BunnyBlog post ever!?! I was planning to start with something clever about how it was that I came to write the book. But then I thought maybe I should begin with something more general about the Easter Season… And then I went to start a load of laundry, check my email, make a cup of coffee…
…pack a snack for after ballet, pick up my daughter from school… When I finally sat back down to yet another false start, I had been through several thousand blog post ideas in my mind compounded by the various and sundry other thoughts passing through an overloaded mom brain… And then I decided the best approach would be to contract a Bunny Scout. What would a Bunny say in a very first BunnyBlog post? Other than, #eatmorecarrots.
And so this post is written by Scout 6897 and is on a topic of great concern to Bunnies the world over. Yep. You guessed it. Kindness.
You see, what is a Bunny if it isn’t the embodiment of gentle, loving kindness itself? Well, besides cute, and soft and fluffy. And generally prolific procreators… and veracious nibblers if you have ever had one near your baseboards…
But, here’s the thing, if there is anything a little Bunny must know, it is how to be kind. Now, if you are anything like me, you may have thought that all little Bunnies are inherently kind. And some are.
But what big Bunnies know and sometimes big Humans don’t, is that kindness is a skill that can be taught, learned and practiced.
So when one comes across a Bunny who does not appear to be kind, do not despair. All hope is not lost! For, first of all, most little Bunnies are not inherently un-kind. But they can behave in ways that are, in fact, atrocious. And when this happens, big Bunnies take measures to mitigate the problem.
Now, before I get to the hows’ of teaching kindness, let’s go over some whys’. The first why is pretty obvious, at least to Bunnies, and that is, that the more kindness in the burrow, the less headaches in the burrow.
Moreover, as Bunnies have evolved over millions and millions of years, they were able to acquire a certain degree of wisdom often lost on the average Human. You see, Bunnies have been able to surmise that practicing kindness can, in fact, directly effect not only the individual Bunny’s own wellbeing but also the wellbeing of the entire fluffle.
Not only that, but by practicing kindness, young Bunnies develop a whole range of important values including empathy, respect, compassion, integrity, generosity and gratitude just to name but a few!
See, here is the thing, by helping little Bunnies make conscious decisions to take actions that DIRECTLY effect their own lived experience, little Bunnies begin to understand that, in many real life situations, they have control over how they behave. This, in turn, means that they have control over how they feel!
And this is epic because this means that how a Bunny feels about its Bunny world is, in fact, a choice! Bunnies choose to behave in ways that make them feel the way they want to feel. The emphasis being on the behavior rather than on the feeling.
This applies to other aspects of Bunny behavior as well. If they want to feel courageous, then they behave courageously, or, in other words, do courageous things. It is an action based system rather than a feeling based system. And I know you humans are slow, so I will reiterate, you must Act the way you want to Feel.
Bunnies are taught that they can choose happiness, caring and sharing and, in so doing, they also get to develop a sense of independence, self actualization, leadership and so much more.
And the more they practice the better they get!
All of this then increases the likelihood that little Bunnies will grow into a happy, successful and kind big Bunnies! And this all makes perfect sense because when is the last time you saw a Bunny say or do something mean? That’s what I thought. Never.
Now, Bunnies as a whole have developed their own educational system that works and supports all of Bunnykind. (Do you see that … “Bunny” “kind”… yep. Works with mankind and humankind as well. But only a Bunny would notice.)
Anyway, Kindness is part of the common Bunny core curriculum. In fact, one can Major in Kindness in Bunny College! It is that important to Bunny culture.
And this is the point in the post that, after I remind you to #eatmorecarrots, I will share with you one of the most successful methods that big Bunnies use to teach kindness to little Bunnies. It is commonly know in Bunny culture as a RAK or a Random Acts of Kindness.
A Random Act of Kindness is a spontaneous decision to do something nice for another Bunny with NO EXPECTATIONS of getting anything in return. It is a gesture (small or large) that one Bunny does that brings more joy, love and happiness into the Bunny world around them because Bunnies know that if they want to feel happy, they have to do happy things.
Sometimes they say #justbenice as a reminder that a RAK can be as simple as a smile or just saying “Hi.”
The interesting thing is that a Random Act of Kindness does not just benefit the Bunny that receives it. It also benefits both the giver Bunny, and anybunny else who happens to witness it!
And the best part is, like yawns, RAKs are contagious! So when one Bunny acts kindly, they inspire others Bunnies to act kindly. It creates a ripple effect which spreads outwardly, like a pebble thrown into a still puddle!
Now, to teach these Bunny techniques to Humans will take a little doing since Humans are usually in too much of a rush to think about it. But that is why it has to be practiced. One of the best ways to start, however, is to just talk about it. Bunnies talk about kindness all the time.
Then, once you and your little Humans have talked about it, I wouldn’t be surprised if your little Humans couldn’t give you a list of 100 ways to spread kindness! I could give you some suggestions or examples. But that would not allow you and your little Humans the opportunity to feel creative by doing creative things!
And once you have kindness down, you can start adding other values and character traits like gratitude or respect… That’s how the Bunnies do it. And it works like a charm!