Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The White Queen's Advice

"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."
Lewis Carroll

When's the last time you sat and imagined impossible things? (without the aid of pharmaceuticals). Have you watched a child as they followed the floating path of a dandelion fluff and in their eyes you could see a world floating by? Or thought of riding on a bird's wings and seeing what it sees? Or looked at your backyard for where the fairies had their midnight tea last night?
This morning I was reading a book by Madeline L'Engle, one of my favorite authors, not so much for her fiction, but her non-fiction. She writes so humbly and so soaringly about being an artist, being a Christian, being a woman, being a mother and questioning all of it on a regular basis. Not sure why she appeals to me so much. Right.
But she talks about how we loose that ability to live in the possibility of impossibility as we grow older. That to believe the impossible requires a lot of trust and going against what the world says is right. Then she quoted the White Queen from Alice in Wonderland, like I did above.
Practice believing impossible things. Hmmm, well if nothing else it would make for more smiles.
Let's give it a try. What impossible things might you believe in today?

No comments: