altered book journal entry by Kel © 2010
When I put these words and the image together, it stirred a surprising reaction in me. There was such a strong resonance and dissonance within it, I knew that meant I was supposed to pay attention.
A few weeks later, Jan posted about losing your muchness, and at the bottom of that post was a familiar face. Funnily enough, I didn't connect it with Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, or Alice in Wonderland. It was simply "that face" from my journal.
You see, living near a small rural town where the move theatre has such limited viewing choice and session times that we can count on one hand the number of times we've been to the movies in the past 5 years . . . keeping my finger on the pulse of cinematic trends has been hard. So it was a surprise to realise who this intriguing looking character was - The Hatter from Tim Burton's movie Alice in Wonderland.
So, on reading Jan's post and seeing that familiar face, I followed the trail of synchronicities down the rabbit hole to see what might be discovered. Two days of hunting later and I had the dvd to watch. What a totally insane movie - with so much symbolism flying around it was hard to keep up with it all.
To help me focus, I paid attention to the Hatter and Alice. This is what I saw:
The Hatter had a passion. To create hats for people to wear on their heads. To help others find the right head-dress for the right occassion. The right head-dress for who they wish to be, hope to be, know they might possibly be, if only they had the right hat to carry it off.
When Alice and the Hatter meet however, he is stuck in a time-warped tea party. Forever stuck at 6 o'clock, sipping endless cups of tea.
Given a purpose - to help Alice on her hero's journey - the Hatter ends up in a strange situation. Imprisoned in the Queen of Hearts' castle, he convinces the big-headed queen that he can create a hat worthy of her head. Not only does following his passion stave off his impending execution, it allows time for Alice to arrive and get the sword which will help her slay the Jabberwocky. Before he leaves the castle, he also gets to save those enslaved in that castle full of fear, and take them with him to the White Queen's palace.
And what did I notice about Alice?
Her father had taught her to believe six impossible things before breakfast. And when she remembered this practice, it helped her slay the Jabberwocky; I try to believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Count them Alice. One, there are drinks that make you shrink. Two, there are foods that make you grow. Three, animals can talk. Four, Cats can disapear. Five, there’s a place called Underland. Six, I can slay the Jabberwocky.
Obviously, because of the collage I had created ealier, the Hatter energy is what drew me like a magnet. Being so passionate about something that you step out on a journey, forsaking other paths and following only the path of passion with a no-turning-back philosophy.
But what becomes of a hatter when it seems hats are not deemed as necessary accessories anymore?
Alice has the answer. A daily practice of believing that impossible things can become possible.
In response to Jan's question, that is my muchness. Believing the Impossible is possible.
And what is my 'beast'? The castle of fear. Every time I listen to those who say it's impossible, or that the sacrifices I've made so far are not worth it, or every time I get discouraged and tell myself it's impossible, another stone gets laid in the wall of the castle of fear. When I look at the image above, and ask, "Why would anyone keep anything for the way back?" The answer is, "The fear of failure."
As Absalom advised Alice, "the sword knows what it wants - all you have to do is hold on to it"
So here I am, holding onto my belief, fuelled by my passion, and feeling much more muchier already.
