Rusty the Rabbit
Maybe you have gone to a race track for a greyhound dog race. No matter what track you go to, the mechanical rabbit they use to lure the dogs into racing is named “Rusty.” Rusty is nothing more than a fake tool made up to look like a real rabbit. It is nothing but a ruse. It is attached to the inside railing on the track and designed to follow that track on a pace faster than the dogs. Let the race commence!
The promise of “Here comes Rusty” is announced over the facilities loud speakers. Excitement builds not only in the stands, but in the pens where the greyhounds are caged. They tense their muscles and breath heavily through their muzzled mouths with the anticipation of the “hunt.” They each know that the faster they run, the better the chance of catching the prey.
Rusty, that inanimate and mechanical being, is released to the track. The whirr of the contraption can be heard throughout the track. At just the right moment, the pens of the dogs open and they frantically clamor to get a foot hold on the dirt track.
Every once in a while though, a greyhound will actually catch the mechanical “rabbit.” Guess what? That dog will never race again. It’s discovered it’s been duped, led to believe that what it was chasing was real. It’s not. It’s just fake, a fabrication. We can be the same. We pursue things in the hopes it will be real and provide satisfaction. Alas, no. We live in a day and age of perpetual desires constantly unfulfilled. We can squander so much time chasing rabbits…