Watership Down is,
as everyone knows, a classic novel by Richard Adams from the 1970s about
rabbits. It is a fantasy much like
another great British work, Wind in the
Willows. I give copies to the
grandkids to read when they reach the point of being able to grasp most of it -- I
think 12 or 13, usually is good -- depending on the individual. I recently gave a copy to Number 2
granddaughter. When I bought it, the
cashier at B&N, a young lady in her 20s, remarked that it was still her
"favorite book ever". Adams developed the novel from stories he told his daughters as they were driving, and he based it somewhat on his experience as a British soldier in World War II, especially the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, in which he was a participant.
The rabbits are
presented as inhabiting our world with some realism. The animals are anthropomorphized to the
extent that they possess human-like consciousness along with human reasoning
and problem-solving abilities. They have
religion and myths, and they tell stories.
They are small, fast, furry humans without thumbs. Suspension of belief is quite easy, though, as the
book is an immersive, engaging read.
A person can pick up a few concepts for prudent living from
Adams' rabbits. I'll briefly list a few to give you an idea of what I mean.
1) There is a higher power.
Right from the first, one of the heroes of the story, a small rabbit
called Fiver, is shown to be a visionary.
His warning about an impending disaster puts the story in motion, and
his prophetic insights continue to aid the band throughout their adventures. What human would call Providence is present throughout.
2) Sometimes you have to do things you've not done. Adams weaves numerous bits of lapine natural
history into his tale. Buck rabbits
normally do not do any extensive digging.
Warrens and dens are dug out by does.
Yet there is nothing to keep the bucks from digging effectively and
efficiently. The rabbits that fled under
Fiver's warning were all bucks and did decide that they would do something
different and dig their own holes.
3) Network with those who might share some common needs and
do not present serious threats. The
rabbits made alliances with both a mouse and an injured seagull. While seagulls might eat a rabbit kitten,
they are not a significant enemy of adult rabbits. Both alliances paid dividends toward the
warren’s successful establishment and continuance.
4) Sort of a corollary to the previous point, community networks
easily expand a group’s skill sets.
Since the rabbits lacked tools and technology, the only way to expand
their natural abilities was through connections and friendships with other
creatures.
5) An alliance must be mutually beneficial, but it doesn’t
necessarily have to have the parties on good terms. An enemy that thwarts one’s enemies doesn’t
automatically become one’s friend. The
Watership Down warren benefited from opportune interventions by a fox, a dog,
and a thunderstorm. None of these
instruments were friendly to the Watership Down rabbits, but they were
opportunities.
6) Security and safety come with a price – often one too
high to be endured. Our heroes see two
instances of this at work. In the first
case, the cost is the sacrifice of the innocent. In another, the price is excessive discipline
and regimentation. Life and death and
struggle are realities. We are not
guaranteed an easy, ideal, stress-free life.
We would all be better off if we could accept loss and failure as part
of the tapestry of living.
7) Speaking of regimentation, if a bit of something is good,
a lot of it is not always better. Wisdom
calls us to be disciplined, but the goal of legitimate external discipline such
as by parents or military organizations is to develop internalized calmness,
self-control and good judgment. Control
by authorities that goes overboard tends to be control simply for the sake of
control.
8) Do not plan to improvise, but do always look for new ways
to make use of that which you have at hand.
9) Related to 8 above, you don’t have to understand all
there is to know about something or be able to see exactly how it will end in
order to use something to your advantage.
There is a certain amount of risk in any venture. Remember Donald Rumsfeld talking about the “known
unknowns” and all that? Right from the
start there are going to be things that we know we do not know. We’re going to find out as the dominoes start
to fall, but if you insist on knowing beforehand, you may never start.
10) I could probably go on, but ten seems like a good place
to wrap it up for now: It is always
important to know your purpose and keep your ultimate goal in mind. We’ll go directly back to the rabbits here
for the example. Recall that only bucks
escaped to establish the new warren on Watership Down. These were not gay rabbits. They were living an idyllic existence for
some time, but they quickly realized that if the warren was to thrive, they
needed does. A rabbit’s purpose is not
to merely survive, but to reproduce and to create an environment where the
offspring can prosper. This overarching
goal then drives the rest of the novel’s plot, which is part of what makes the
whole believable and entertaining.
Those of us who believe in the importance of being prepared
and able to deal effectively with future events can’t be satisfied with mere
survival. We have to understand that
there is a greater goal, the continuance of our families, the preservation of
our beliefs and principles, and maintaining liberty. If we lose sight of why we are doing what we
are doing, our efforts will most likely prove futile if not outright detrimental in the end.
Some of the myths of the rabbits concerning their "folk hero", El-ahrairah, "Prince-With-A-Thousand-Enemies", preserve their lapine wisdom and embody the virtues of rabbits. It reminds us of the power of myth and folk wisdom and how much we can convey through stories and oral histories.
