Between Reality And Wonderland

 

The other day Lisa invited a bunch of friends including me to watch a video she had just finished editing.  The 55 minute film turned out to be a creative documentation of seven months in late 2011 and early 2012 during which Lisa and 21 other artists developed and finally performed live a circus piece called "reALICE".

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" was the main theme of the acts and they depicted Alice in her old age: a woman who gets lost in weird memories full of whirling contradictions, disoriented thoughts, acrobatic banalities, enlightening darkness and sounds that drip of poetry.  The aged Alice balances high above the trees, stumbles through the labyrinth of an absurd reality but won' t let anything get her down.  

Lisa's short film inspired me to think about Robert in Wonderland and the Robert that has a foot in reality and another in wonderland.  The next day I conducted a search on the internet for images, quotes and other material around the theme of "Alice" which made their way into my own (unsurprisingly photographic) interpretation.

     

 "I’m Not Going Back To Yesterday Because I Was A Different Person Then"

When I was a teenager I considered everyone above the age of 40 to be "officially old".  I also believed that at that age everything in my life from job and hobbies to friends and family would be one wonderfully comfortable routine without the real dangers of a less predictable life.  In 1983 at 12 when I decided I wanted to become a "famous songwriter", it would have almost certainly devastated me to learn (from someone who' s been to the future) that exactly 30 years later I would not only have given up on music but also still be at "square one".

The reality however, is far from devastating. I can safely say that I prefer leading a life that constantly creates that "square one"-feeling to that of the "comfortable predictability" that I had actually expected and aspired to.  Time for me to move on to square two, however...

 "But You Can't Help It. Everyone Here Is Mad."

In every day conversations I find it sometimes difficult to clearly state what I personally think about this or that. I am often reluctant to voice my opinion because I feel that I know too little about the topic in question. And I really feel awkward when I have to admit to myself that I don' t even have an opinion at all!

But why? Why is it that I, and probably others, believe that in this world today, we are supposed to have some opinion on everything if we don't want to be considered "uneducated", "disinterested" or "ignorant".    

Could it be because we seek acknowledgment and acceptance?

"If Everybody Minded Their Own Business,
The World Would Go Around A Great Deal Faster Than It Does"

 

I sometimes find it hard to accept people as they are, probably many of us do, as we try to place them in the categories and boxes that frame our world view and expectations of them.

 
I do not care about academic titles, they say nothing about me.  Money is not my main motivator and hopefully never will be.  And I have no intention of stopping to be a "dreamer" who likes to mentally escape into his own "Wonderland" at random moments of the day, every now and then. Others out there like me, who have aspirations that are out-of-the-norm, may be shattering the worldviews of those around them in this very moment!

And we should, as long as we are not harming anyone. The biggest step towards happiness is by being true to yourself.

The Moment I Realised That I Was Tricked

Lying in the face of others is one thing.  But what about lying to myself?  Isn't that an obvious attempt to ignore a valid possibility or even fact about this world which I do not want to accept for whatever reason?

Maybe.  But it is easier said than done to accept the possibility. As it would be for a religious person, to even contemplate the possibility that God may not exist or that their life is a pure cosmic coincidence...

Empty Promises

Man, I really take people by the word sometimes.  And then I get angry at them because they did not "behave" or "deliver" what they promise.  While trying to reason with my anger, I've made two observations: First, in most (if not all) cases the main cause for my anger can be traced back to myself.  Second, I sometimes put people through the looking glass but not my own self.  I do not always "walk the talk" either.

"So Rested He By The Tumtum Tree"

Not that I can remember when I last did it but I just don't understand what is so wrong about hugging a tree!  So why is it that the term "tree hugger" is used to belittle environmentalists?

Is it wrong to acknowledge the "simple" things in life which in reality are far more complex creations than anything we humans could ever make?  No. And if it makes you happy then go and hug that tree for as long as you like.

 "Because Everything Would Be What It Isn’t"

 

I do not expect you to have an opinion about everything, let alone this "Image Of The Subconscious" or its title "Because Everything Would Be What It Isn’t" or on how the image and title fit together. You might like neither or would not want to "meditate" on whether you actually like anything about this image.  That' s fine with me.  Because I, on some matters, refuse to have an opinion.