the black rabbit

We all have some part of ourselves that we don't like.  Or sometimes we are shocked to find that we have something unpleasant and dark within ourselves.  When it happens we usually want to get rid of that part as quickly as possible, without anyone noticing that we had it.  But is it all we can do with the negative part of ourselves?

Having that question in mind, I would like to share some thoughts on a picture book by Philippa Leathers, The Black Rabbit, which I came across the other day. 

A rabbit wakes up in a beautiful morning and suddenly finds out that he is not alone; a huge black rabbit is standing behind him.

While the rabbit tells the black rabbit to go away, the black rabbit keeps staying behind him.  The rabbit asks the black rabbit why he is following him, but the black rabbit makes no answer.
The rabbit runs, hides and swims to get away from the black rabbit but in vain.  The black rabbit follows him everywhere.

Although the black rabbit is drawn as a physical shadow of the rabbit, it can also be taken as his psychological shadow, i.e. the unknown or disgusted side of his personality.

The beginning of the story well illustrates our shock and fear when we encounter our shadow, the dark unknown side of ourselves: all of a sudden we find something huge behind us, silent and overwhelming.  We have no idea how to communicate with it and yet it follows us anywhere we go.  No matter how hard we try, we cannot get rid of it.

 

Finally the rabbit runs into the deep dark wood.  Then he cannot see the black rabbit anymore.  He feels relieved.  However, no sooner he is relaxed than he is startled again by someone.  The black rabbit?  No, it is a wolf!  The rabbit runs for his life out of the wood with all his might.  But alas!  The rabbit trips.  All is over!
Strangely enough, when the rabbit gives up, the wolf is gone.  Then the rabbit finds that the black rabbit stands proudly behind him in the sunlight, and the rabbit knows that the black rabbit saved his life, scaring the wolf away.  They smile to each other and become friends.

At the fatal moment the rabbit is at his wits' end and he can do nothing more.  And yet it is also the moment when the black rabbit comes back on the scene and defeats the wolf in such a way the rabbit must have never thought possible.  The black rabbit appears as a friend at the crisis and the relationship between the rabbit and the black rabbit changes dramatically.

When seeing the black rabbit as the neglected shadow side of the rabbit, the last episode clearly shows that the dark side actually contains some not-yet recognised potential of the rabbit.  Even though the rabbit will never win against the wolf in a physical fight, he can still play a trick on the wolf to get rid of him.  Moreover it seems that the crisis was almost necessary for the rabbit to get an access to this unknown creative part of himself.

Since our shadowy side looks strange and threatening, it is natural that our first reaction is a strong rejection.  We might try to ignore it or hide from it or run away from it until the flight is no longer possible.  Consequently it might take a long time for us to really face our dark side.
However, when that part of us is recognised and accepted in relation to ourselves, it will open us up to the possibilities which we never imagined existed in ourselves.