Rabbits, Coyotes, and the Illusion of Safety

Years ago, I was driving along a deserted highway somewhere in central New Mexico. I was making my way north to visit a relative several states away. There wasn't much to do, besides listening to music, so I spent some time observing the environment around me. This desert was different in appearance to the one that I am used to. It was greener and cooler. There was more vegetation and a greater variety of it. Instead of endless seas of sand and mesquite, there was grass and a few stunted trees dotted the landscape. Seemingly endless stretches of rolling hills (as opposed to stony mountains and vast valleys between them) stretched out before me. That particular length of road was well away from civilization in an already sparsely populated state so there was nothing but wilderness as far as I could see. Rabbits darted across the pavement. Birds feasted upon the ones that didn't make it. Aside form the highway itself, the land was rough and untamed.

I looked out ahead of me and I saw another rabbit hop out of my path well before my tires could threaten it's safety. This rabbit was careful. It made sure to stay out of the road and only crossed when there were no cars near by. The rabbit stopped on the shoulder of the road to rest, celebrate, or gloat. It must have believed that was safe because it had managed to avoid the danger that was approaching it at 55 miles per hour.

My car was much closer now and the rabbit was still siting, seemingly safe, by the side of the road. Just as I was about to pass the animal, a grayish brown coyote with a prominent mane jumped out of the bushes, snatched up the rabbit, and shook it in its jaws. As I drove by, the coyote appeared to be pleased with itself and its freshly caught breakfast.

Why did I tell this story? I like writing about the desert but there is more to this than that. The rabbit believed that it had found safety but it was an illusion and it ended up in the belly of a hungry coyote as a result. I see people seeking out that same false sense of security. We think that safety is something that we can achieve but I am not so sure. We can try to avoid perceived dangers like the rabbit did with my car. We can eat a restrictive diet to try to extend our lives, we can abstain from things that are fun but hazardous lest we be hurt, we can lock ourselves behind strong doors and thick walls to keep the murderers out along with all other human contact but there is always a coyote hiding in the bushes. A rock could fall out of the sky and kill us all, a deadly disease could strike and kill us all, the decades long dick measuring contest between Western and Eastern powers could boil over into a catastrophic war and kill us all.

I am not highlighting the illusion of safety to ruin everyone's day. My intention is quite the opposite. I believe that, since we are never truly safe and because our lives could end at any moment, we should try to enjoy ourselves while we are still among the living. We are all going to die so make marry and stop worrying so much. Smoke a joint or have a drink and let the consequences be dammed.

Peace.

All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website, unsplash.com.