Alice, Mushrooms and Caterpillars

As I sat there trying to get some work done earlier today, a part from Alice in Wonderland crossed my mind:

"One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter. One side of what The other side of what? Thought Alice to herself. Of the mushroom, said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it out aloud, and in another moment, it was out of sight."

That Caterpillar gave Alice such great advice, if you really think about it. Life is all about decisions, and those you make will either make you taller, or smaller, depending on what path you choose. He also asks her "who are you" to which she replies that she isn't sure. Who of us is ever sure? We are continuously growing, changing, adapting, readapting and just trying to fit in. In today's world, you can be anyone you want, so long as it isn't yourself. What a weird thought.


I think Lewis Carroll is very misunderstood. Critics keep insisting that his book was about drugs as she falls asleep in an opium field, then starts to pop pills, eat magic mushrooms, hallucinate, fall upwards, fly downwards and so on. I think that maybe, Mr. Lewis is the only one that got it right. It is an insane world out there, and fitting in will drive you crazy. So crazy, in fact, that one day you may just wake up to a white rabbit dressed in a nice red jacket screaming "I'm late for a very important date". Then again, aren't we all running round shouting that we are late for this or that? I think that most of us are white rabbits, some are mad hatters and only a rare few are Alices.