Rejoice!!!
You have found THE side quest!
What is your quest?
What is your favorite color?
(If you don’t know, then I don’t know.)
What is the land speed velocity of an unladen jackalope?
These questions and many more may or may not be answered in the form of the following story, and you may or may not leave with even more questions than you ever had before.
What you are about to read may or may not be based on true events.
Once upon a time ...
... a little bunny rabbit was born in a strawberry patch far, far away. With each day little BunBun drank its strawberry milkshake in the yard, it grew stronger and some say even wiser. Life was simpler back then — no worries of what to eat next or of taxes and the GDP.
One day, BunBun realized it needed more than sunshine and strawberry milkshakes. It wanted adventure! It longed for a quest to find their life purpose!
They began a journey, not knowing what it was, and they’ll continue taking it forever just because — this is the journey that never ends. Yes. It goes on and on, my friends.
So there BunBun was, hopping down the rabbit trail, trying to find its life purpose. When all of a sudden, a man jumped out onto the path and yelled so loudly that bewildered BunBun ‘bout bounced out of its skin! The man yelled, “Beware!!!” in the most eccentric tone and then leaned in unwelcome right up to BunBun’s ears, whispering ever so softly, “We’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty.” Just as BunBun’s eyes grew wide in fear, a bear came out of the woods and snarled at the Extended Car Warranty man, “No more of your tricks!” and he ate the man in one gulp.
“Thank you, Bear! I’d choose you any day,” BunBun exclaimed as it continued to scamper down the rabbit trail.
BunBun kept going and going, for the rabbit trail kept continuing on. Sometimes the trail was nice and offered many delights, while other times it was treacherous and felt difficult to withstand. BunBun was determined to find its life’s purpose, but as time passed, the once bright hope became more and more tarnished. Some nights there would be starlight offering joy, little snails and grasshoppers as friends in the day, while other, more lonely times there was no one at all, and the darkness was harder to pierce.
With each passing day, BunBun grew up — going down dark paths can often produce a quickening of growth. The reoccurrence of tricky Extended Car Warranty men was common down the path, but they were perhaps the least of worries in comparison to other more menacing creatures that would latch onto the most gentle and meek souls. From the outside, these creatures had shiny exteriors with shallow smiles, but through their mouths escaped the rotten stench of a decaying soul. This story will not go into depth about these encounters, as most readers have their own terrifying tales, but it will be said that after a particularly rotten encounter, BunBun realized the need for adaptation.
It took a little time. It took a lot of effort. It took lots of positive self-talk, but one day, BunBun seized the opportunity. There, right next to a tree, a rock, and between the next life lesson, lay a sight so beautiful — self-preservation, self-love, self-respect, trust in one’s own intuition, boundaries, and the like. BunBun picked them up off a patch of moss. As soon as BunBun placed them on top of their head, the clouds parted and glittery beams of star-shine shone down like a spotlight. What a glorious sight to see!
This was the coronation of the Jackalope.
You may think that is the end of our story — you're wrong.
Don’t worry, for every time you are wrong, perhaps you find right?
What happens next?
Sunshine, moonlight, and the shadows between...
...continued to keep up with their dances after the coronation as if nothing had happened. From the outside, only Jackalope’s appearance had changed, but the bulk of their physical had not, and even on the inside had much else? Did BunBun turned Jackalope feel different? The rabbit trail kept going. There were still gentle moments of softness with the snails and grasshoppers. Unfortunately, there were still moments with the shiny but smelly-breathed creatures and, annoyingly, the incessant Extended Car Warranty men.
One day, Jackalope decided to take a rabbit trail up a Rocky Mountain, as always, not knowing what it was. They continued on just because till they reached a stump and marveled at the 3 ladybugs upon it. “This is a ladybug stump, and how lucky am I to witness it!” Jackalope continued farther in and farther up. As the forest parted and the rocks grew more rocky, a glorious view from the top opened to reveal itself. This view was beautiful and vast, extending farther than the eye could see. However, Jackalope realized if they kept too busy looking ahead, they would have missed the small wonder right in front of them. There at the top was not one, two, or three ladybugs but instead a carpet of red — in at least the thousands and too many to count. Many landed on Jackalope. They stood watching and looking between the glorious view of the top and the beautiful view of what was directly in front of them. They realized the importance of savoring both.
“How lucky am I.”
Heading back down the mountain, because that still was not the destination, Jackalope was greeted by a grasshopper. “Hello, friend. I vowed I’d stop you in case I saw you again and thank you for you once saved my life.” Jackalope was dumbfounded and confused, not knowing of any heroic acts it had ever gifted a grasshopper. Seeing the confusion on their face, the grasshopper elaborated, “I once was feeling the end of hope and life itself. You happened by and, as if it was effortless for you to say yes, we shared a short time hopping together down the rabbit trail. You hopped with such joy even though it was night. It gave me a glimmer of hope, and for that, you catalyzed something in me to keep hopping.” And with that, the grasshopper turned and carried on its way.
Later, while taking a drink from a stream, a leaf floated past Jackalope. Looking up, they saw upon the leaf a snail. It expertly navigated its leaf boat and docked on the shore. “I was up on the tree next to the rock the day I saw your bravery of coronation, back many rabbit trails ago. You could have stayed the same and not changed, yet you chose growth. There was a stillness, a softness, something so strong and powerful yet easily missed in that moment. I’m not sorry to have witnessed it. Seeing you choose change gave me my own strength to get off that tree and discover for myself my love of sailing.”
The snail thanked Jackalope, and as the leaf boat drifted out of view, they sat down on the shore and cried. It had happened. They couldn’t explain it, but because of the words from the snail and the words from the grasshopper, Jackalope had happened upon an answer to the question they’d long been seeking and didn’t realize they had had along the way. It didn’t require a grand quest nor any grand declarations. It didn’t even need to be something fully conscious, and yet Jackalope had been doing it all along. That little BunBun that had once drank strawberry milkshakes in the yard had been doing it back then, too. The answer to Jackalope’s life purpose was simple — to be itself.
To be oneself is enough.
Jackalope can still be found hopping down the rabbit trail, and hopefully you’re lucky enough to see them or at least find your own mountain top filled with ladybugs. Take time to smell the flowers and walk with grasshoppers. Take heart when worry of taxes and the GDP creep in. Eat a strawberry. Find joy in the soft moments of your life, and don’t let them pass you by. Savor the rabbit trails.
So what is the land speed velocity of an unladen Jackalope?
It’s somewhere between that of a snail and how quickly time passes.
So what is your side quest?
That story was it. Quest complete. Now, begin a new adventure of your own.
You are encouraged to infuse the whimsical and joyful into all aspects of life.
PS Technically all the photos on this Free Spirit Colorado page Becca took in New Zealand. Don't be fooled. Also, go visit New Zealand.
The End.
Imagined and written by Becca Howard
