When I was a kid, I never liked the children’s book Alice in Wonderland. It was hard for me to read because I never understood all the things that were happening and what the author was trying to convey.
I was excited when the first movie came out as I was hopeful that finally, I would understand what the book was about. I remember coming out of that movie with a headache and still not sure of the message or point. There was no plot or purpose for me; I really could not wrap my head around it or make any sense of it.
Many years later, a beautiful production of Alice came to the screen, with Johnny Depp and Helena Carter and many more great actors. But even though I thought it was entertaining, I still did not get much out of the story.
So fast forward a few years, and now I finally have an appreciation of how profound the author’s writings and teachings are.
Here are a couple of examples of what I mean:
Remember the Red Queen in the story? Helena Carter played one of my favorite characters. In one scene she says to Alice, "Tell me what you did tomorrow?"
Alice says, "Well that is impossible, nobody can tell you what they did tomorrow. Tomorrow hasn't happened yet'.
The Queen says rather pityingly to Alice, "Well, it's a pretty poor memory that only works in one direction."
Think about that statement for a moment. We all will admit that yesterday is over. Even what you did a few hours ago, you can't change or take back what you said or did.
So don't dwell on yesterday; instead, tell yourself today what you “did tomorrow."
The truth is, you can do something about tomorrow-and the tomorrows after that! If you think about it, that's what imagination is all about.
We could take this one step further and ask ourselves what goals and plans have we written down and what will we accomplish tomorrow. If we never have any worthwhile intentions, then tomorrow will come and go, and we will never get to where we want to go or become the person we dream of being. And we will live a life of "if only" or "if I had only," which narrows down to a life of regret.
And that brings me to another great insight from the kid’s book:
This one happens when Alice meets the Cheshire cat, and the cat asks Alice, "Where are you going?"
Alice replies: Which way should I go?
Cat: That depends on where you are going.
Alice: I don't know.
Cat: Then it doesn't matter which way you go."
Where do you want to go? What do you want to achieve? Who do you want to become? Who do you want to be tomorrow? What can you do to get there? What steps can you take; even baby steps count. At least you are going forward.
Maybe just for today, you could tell yourself something true about yourself that is uplifting, encouraging and validating. Maybe just for today you could stop for 5 minutes and think about your intentions.
When you hold that intention and believe, and then do your part, (which we call "action,") .... you can have the things and the life you dream about.
All this is true because you are capable, smart, and you are enough. Everything is within you, so celebrate your Enoughness and make your tomorrows count.
If you need some encouragement, I’m here for you.
Love and blessings!
Rosemary Evans
Children’s Book Author