Constructive growth is possible, but sometimes we lack the perspective to see where and how. Thankfully, Mornings with Alice blog has become a personalized, creative pulpit that continually preaches that I can sprout blossoms amongst the thorns of life.
Lewis Carroll’s writings about a curious character named Alice are the premises for my blog posts, which has slowly grown my courage in being vulnerable. I hope I can bring some encouragement to anyone who, like me, is endeavoring to establish a balance between taking risks and waiting for divine opportunities. Below is a post I wrote when I began this blog which you can read, or you can head over to my weekly posts! Remember, over here, we’re all curious creatures living in a mad Wonderland, so grab some tea or coffee and step through the rabbit hole (aka, welcome to my blog).
Mornings may not be the easiest for me to jump out of my warm bed; not exactly up and excited about the challenge of a new day, especially when it comes to early mornings. However, the morning is my favorite time of the day. The beauty of a sunrise always takes my breath away, every time. Thomas Jefferson claims to have been up every single morning of his life early enough to watch every single sunrise, unless it was covered by clouds. I definitely am not able to make such a claim.
Mornings have such an innate capability of starting your day with a sound mind, and when I mean mornings I am referring to early mornings. I am the most inspired about life in the opening of a day. It is almost like I did not break any roots off of my rose bush when I transplanted it to another hole in the ground. “Ummm, what did she say?” you might be asking. I’ll visualize for you what I visualize in my own head. It's like this: I see holes in the ground where I must move my rose bush (myself) to the next hole (the next day) whenever that certain time which defines a new day comes. Each new hole represents a new day. I must transplant my rose bush to start growing in that new hole. Why? Because, if you think about it, you begin to realize that every new day does kinda feel like you got transplanted from the day before. The thoughts and actions of yesterday can develop knowledge and wisdom or immaturity and foolishness, and only each one of us individually can decide if we will take that with us to the next hole.
Holes and rose bushes may sound extremely corny or ridiculous, but I think there is something to learn here. What does your mornings consist of? Rushing to and fro, trying to catch up with your busy schedule? That is usually what my morning looks like. Yet, there are other mornings where I wake up early enough to just spend time with God and get my act together before my day starts to roll. Our minds rapidly, and sometimes unconsciously, think of how to prepare for the upcoming events of life, but busyness usually does not allow us to fully register how to prepare for what the bigger picture is.
If I rush transplanting my rose bush to the new hole, to start the next day, I start to weaken and break the fragile roots that are growing - the roots that were allowing the rose bush to grow fuller branches, additional leaves, more lustrous flowers. Just like when I start breaking more and more roots in the rush of things and damage everything I once put into that beautiful rose bush. I also break the things that make me grow and damage what God is creating in me. Not making time with Him makes my life hectic and, thus, the roots break from my hastiness in transplanting to the new day.
I have been a fan of Disney's Alice in Wonderland, causing me to one day start reading Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass several years ago. To be honest, the story is kinda weird and randomly put in the Disney version, but so creative and different that I just had to read the books that inspired it. Carroll was an artsy man and a mathematician. He loved telling stories to children, but behind his narratives there always was a point he was telling his readers/listeners. His character, Alice, goes through non-human experiences and insane conversations. She spent her time in a dream of obscurity and nonsensical ideas that she couldn't get her head around. Yet, is that not how we felt when growing up as children, trying to relate to the adult mind? We would be confused at certain actions adults would advocate and listen to conversations that seemed almost stupid to our little minds. However, since they were adults we would put our trust in their hands and hope that somehow everything would begin to make sense. Lewis Carroll's fictions of Alice were for us to remember how it felt to be a little child learning how to relate in a confusing world.
So what does this have to do with rose bushes? Well, the first thing to know is that there are crazy "creatures" (hello, people -- yes you) in this world telling us a million ways to go and live, so there must be a time in our day where we can process, register, and (here is where the roses come in) successfully transplant. There is truth out there seeking to be found, but we need to be able to recognize it, which is why it is so important to be soaking in God everyday - the author of truth. Mornings may not be your preference which is perfectly fine. For me, though, spending early mornings with God and being prepared for whatever life will throw at me is my goal. I may never be perfectly ready for the craziness to follow, but I will be less likely to break roots off my rose bush if I’ve made time to grow in an elevated perspective.
Secondly, rose bushes are mentioned in Lewis Carroll's fiction when the Queen wanted red roses, but her men (personified playing cards) planted white roses accidentally in their distress of the Queen's earnest wants (she was always in a hurry for some reason), so when the roses blossomed they had to paint them red to hide their fatal mistake. The "painting the roses red" idea did not exactly work though, because her Majesty found out and had them beheaded. Oops.
Anyway, this blog was created as a format to motivate and challenge me to grow in a creative perspective. Creativity takes time and usually requires a foundation built upon an elevated perspective. Mornings are not consistently when I create but it is usually when I spend time with the Creator who gives me the inspiration to create. So travel with me, as I play the part of Alice wondering through Wonderland, looking for the truth and the right path among the mad.
"'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where -' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. '- so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation. 'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'" ~Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, p.75-76