Alice in Wonderland

Through the Looking Glass: Epilogue ~ A Poem by Lewis Carroll

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Through the Looking Glass: Epilogue

Lewis Carroll

A boat, beneath a sunny sky
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear
Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life what is it but a dream?

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Thinking Out Loud: Why Not You?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen.

“When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Note: Why not me? Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you haven’t I’ll ask it for you. ‘WHY NOT YOU! The outcome is certain if you don’t try. If you try maybe it will work out and you’ll surprise everyone. There are examples in every part of history, in every country, among all kinds of people. These are the folks who asked, “Why not me?” Then they acted on it, they persevered through disappointments. They kept working when those around them told to relax. They pushed on when friends left them. Why Not You!!

Thinking Out Loud: Daring to Ask Dangerous Questions

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.

“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

Alice didn’t think that proved it at all; however, she went on. “And how do you know that you’re mad?”[77]

“To begin with,” said the Cat, “a dog’s not mad. You grant that?”

“I suppose so,” said Alice.

“Well, then,” the Cat went on, “you see a dog growls when it’s angry, and wags its tail when it’s pleased. Now I growl when I’m pleased, and wag my tail when I’m angry. Therefore I’m mad.”

“I call it purring, not growling,” said Alice.”

Note: How many arguments are started because we’re sure we’re right? My experience is that a lot of arguments are started because two people refuse to admit that there may be more than one perspective. And, both persons may not have a complete grasp of what is right. When we set aside our perspective and listen to the other we create a fertile field for dialogue to occur. Dialogue is hard work. When we engage in dialogue we dare to ask previously unexplored questions because they were “too dangerous” to ask. Here’s a dangerous question: “Can we talk about ______ without either one of us getting upset?” The follow up question: “How do we do that?” Dare to have the courage to dialogue.

Thinking Out Loud ~ When You’re Stuck, Begin at the Beginning

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. “Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?” he asked.

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end; then stop.”

Note: Transitioning to a new job, new location, or dramatic changes in life circumstances are all fraught with stress, anxiety, and often a paralysis. I have a friend whose spouse died. I understood how she felt since I had the same experience. My friend was trapped by an emotional paralysis. Her grief was so great, she had difficulty in doing even the smallest of tasks,. Fortunately, she sought help and was able to ‘Begin at the beginning and continue. . . .” That’s what we all have to do in the transition moments, begin at the beginning and go on until we come to the end.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Where Do You Want to Go?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked good-natured, she thought: still it had very long claws and a great many teeth, so she felt that it ought to be treated with respect.

“Cheshire Puss,” she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. “Come, it’s pleased so far,” thought Alice, and she went on. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where——” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“—— so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

Note: Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wonder what I’ll do when I grow up?” Or, “I wonder where all this is going?” We can be parallelized by those thoughts believing we need certitude before we commit ourselves. The Cheshire cat offers us some sage advice, if we start walking and continue walking, we’ll get somewhere. By worrying less about where we want to go and putting our energy into constructive action, we’ll get somewhere, and we will be pleasantly surprised at where we end up. Something good will happen because we decided to get off the sofa and start walking.

Thinking Out Loud ~ How Have You Changed?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.

“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”

Note: We are in a state of constant change. We are not the same people we were ten years, five years , or a year ago. We age. We take in new information. We become influenced by who we meet, the kind of work we do, what we read and who we choose as friends or partners. When you meet someone you haven’t seen in a long time have you ever thought to yourself, ‘He/she changed.’ I have. I see this in family members when I visit. Life has a way of changing us. What’s important during the inevitable change process is to hold on to all that is good, true, and enduring.

Thinking Out Loud ~ A Powerful Question: Who Am I?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” And she began thinking over all the children she knew that were of the same age as herself, to see if she could have been changed for any of them.”

Note: Alice asks an important question: Who am I? Have you asked yourself that question? If we spend time reflecting on the question and allow ourselves to see and hear unpleasant truths, we have a chance to evolve the who we are into the who we want to become. I think we’re always evolving, we have a chance to choose the direction of our evolution. We can eventually evolve and allow ourselves to blossom into something spectacular.

Thinking Out Loud: Very Few Things are Impossible

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway; “and even if my head would go through,” thought poor Alice, “it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how to begin.” For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.”

Note: All we have to do is to closely examine our lives and we will, like Alice, see that very few things indeed were really impossible. When we change our thinking from impossibility thinking to possibility thinking whole new universes open to us. We begin to see things that were always visible, yet they were invisible to us because we refused to see them. Take the can’t, don’t, impossible, and other negative words our of your vocabulary and send them packing. You’ve got a journey to take, people to me, adventures to experience.

Thinking Out Loud ~ You Will Overcome the Struggle

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of

time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen

next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and

noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there

she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the

shelves as she passed; it was labelled “ORANGE MARMALADE”, but to

her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for

fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the

cupboards as she fell past it.”

Note: Poor Alice. She didn’t know where she was going. It was too dark to see her way. And, when she thought she found something, it was of no help. How often have you felt the same way when embarking on a new adventure? I know I’ve felt lost and questioned my wisdom for choosing a journey. I discovered by toughing it out, answers begin to form, and confidence build with every small success. If we stop and look back on our journey we’ll see that we overcame the darkness.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Make Your Dream an Adventure

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so

very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, “Oh

dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” (when she thought it over afterwards, it

occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all

seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its

waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to

her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a

rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and

burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was

just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.

In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.”

Note: I like this opening to Alice in Wonderland. Alice chases the rabbit and goes down the rabbit hole without hesitation. That’s how we should chase our dreams. We should go after them without hesitation. We should be thinking of chasing our dreams as an adventure. If our dream is worth thinking about, our dreams are worth pursuing. No looking back. No fear. Plunge ahead with full speed.

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