What Can the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland Teach Us About Life?
The first chapter in “Alice in Wonderland” is entitled “Down the Rabbit Hole”. What hits me about that is how uniquely interesting rabbit holes truly are. Rabbit holes are curvy paths that take you someplace you weren’t expecting to go and don’t know where they end up.
Alice was tired of having nothing to do, of living her normal existence, sitting on the stream bank, when suddenly the White Rabbit appears, just being a magical rabbit, saying “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” and breaks Alice from her slumber.
One of the most wonderful lines of the book is when Alice becomes “burning with curiosity” and follows him down the rabbit hole “never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.” The magical pull of the White Rabbit ignited her curiosity, and poof a whole new world opened up to her. A world so different than what she was used to.
That’s what rabbit holes, and their curious inhabitants, do.
- They open our senses to possibilities otherwise unimagined.
- They open our senses to places and things otherwise unattainable.
- They open our hearts and souls to a world full of curiosity.
“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity” — Dorothy Parker
That’s the breathtaking part of going someplace you would otherwise never have gone. The curiosity. The excitement. The taste for adventure and experiences you thought were out of your reach. I’ve done this on countless occasions. Exploring Africa, the Himalayas, putting on MMA gloves and getting in the ring, spinning dancing partners across the dance floor, tasting all the flavors that life has to offer.
But rabbit holes and curiosity have their dark side as well. They aren’t always well lit and can be spooky at times. And finding an easy exit when we get scared can be … challenging to say the least. It takes true courage and honest reflection to truly delve into the twists and turns that a rabbit hole can conjure. And the illusions, once we are in the rabbit hole, let us spin up spooky stories and can leave us breathless and scared and desperate for the comfort of our old above the ground normality.
So here’s my question: “What would it take for you to delve into the rabbit hole?” and “Can you muster the courage and strength of heart necessary to accept the curiosity a rabbit hole can illuminate?” What next steps, simple single steps, could you take tomorrow to prepare yourself for an adventure chasing a White Rabbit and exploring his world? Where do you dream your curiosity could take you? On an exploration of the world? On an inner journey to explore parts of you that were previously hidden? What words, every day, can you say to yourself in the mirror, to exercise and strengthen your heart and curiosity so one day you’ll be ready for your next great adventure Down the Rabbit Hole?
