Are you a rabbit or a bloodhound?

Sometimes I’m more like a rabbit than a bloodhound.

When I think about rabbits, I tend to think of them leading a zigzag path, able to be distracted and set off course by any unusual scent or motion. They may have a goal when they start out, but there’s no telling where they’ll wind up. (Apologies to my rabbit-loving friend, Marion, if I’ve misjudged them…)

On the other hand, when I think of bloodhounds, I think of them as being fixed on a goal, in this case a scent. (Marion, not to worry… in my illustration, they’re helping the police in their pursuit of a criminal – NOT a rabbit…) At any rate, the bloodhound isn’t easily distracted by extraneous sights and smells. He continues to stay focused on what’s directly in front of him. Sure, he’s aware of the end goal – finding the source of the scent – but he stays on track.

St. Francis de Sales has some top-notch advice for the rabbits among us:

In order to journey steadily, we must apply ourselves to doing well the stretch of road immediately before us on the first day of the journey and not waste time wanting to do the last lap of the way while we still have to make it through the first.

The apostle Paul also has some wisdom for us along the same lines in the third chapter of Philippians:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.

Today, I pray that I will follow the example of the bloodhound and keep my eyes on the prize.

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H/T to Alice Claire at How Can I Keep From Singing for the quote from St. Francis de Sales!

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