My Agony Aunt

Sometimes, I forget I am just a rabbit. You know, for us rabbits, it's eat, sleep, shit and do the rabbit thing. I mean hop around, O you filthy mind.

You humans have it good - better or worse is for you to judge. So, here's my little rabbit philosophy of life. Take it as you like.

Be amazed
It is one of life's great joys to be amazed by the world we live in. You can just look at the sunset, the flowers, the butterflies and feel the joy or you can enjoy the world through another's eyes - the arts, poetry, science and architecture. Rise above the fallacy that science is man's creation - it is not, it is man's approximate understanding of God. Science used to be called the Laws of Nature, and the wonder and attraction of science was because it revealed the mind of God (who said that?). Or you can study man's cultural knowledge - feng shui, yoga, and other mystical arts. Just do not be drawn into them. Keep your distance - these arts, like science, are only man's approximate understanding. And like science, if you are drawn too close, you can cause more harm than good.

Be happy
Happiness is our natural state. Children are happy until something happens to make them unhappy. And then they are happy again. Do not think you have to seek happiness. Nor despair if you are unhappy. Know always that you can overcome and that happiness is already given to you. Nothing is so bad you cannot make it worse. So don't. Avoid making things worse. Find back the happiness that belongs to you and help those who are unhappy to find it again.

Do your best
Life is meant to be exciting and challenging. You know that. Even as everyone else tells you to settle for what you can get, you hanker for more. Until you recognise this in you, you will be unhappy and you may do reckless things just to satisfy this yearning to be the best you can be. So, make up your mind to live your life. Don't worry about satisfying your parents nor letting them down. They love you and you are already good enough - despite what they may say.

Learn to love
There are those whose love is manifested through fear for us. They focus on what can go wrong, and then fixate on it in an attempt to avoid any possibility of failure. They deserve our love more than our censure. Be patient with them, for their vexation is the tip of their iceberg. There is so much more inside. If you can, let them unburden themselves. If you can keep your course and be gentle, they will come to see things more clearly. So will you.

In all these things, you will be challenged and you will find frustration and despair companions. They are your limits. Stay within them or push them a little. They may yield just to set up camp a little further way. It is in these ways that God draws us near.