Malice in Wonderland

“There is a place.  Like no place on Earth.  A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger!  Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter.  Which luckily I am.” ~ The Mad Hatter

I dreamt up the title of this blog over a decade ago, but never did anything with it.  Considering the madness currently brewing in our world, I think it’s high time I stop brewing the idea, and spill the tea.  Oh my!  Have I made a rhyme?  I just woke up from a dream about a rabbit.  Random?  No, it’s Easter.  I think.  What day is it?  Day 26.  A quick glance at my ever present technological pocket watch reveals that it is the unearthly hour of 3 a.m.  Oh dear!  I just hit my head on the ceiling.  It seems…a bit lower today?  How curious!  Opening my eyes, I remember…I’m a miniature version of myself…trapped in a teapot.  I’ve been doing a lot of wondering lately.  Not that that’s really anything new.  But I feel like I’m in one of those purple mental spiral tunnels (try saying that as fast as you can, more than twelve times) from an old animated movie.  But this isn’t a movie, and it isn’t a bad dream either.  This is reality.

Every dish in the house is haphazardly piled atop the countertops, and I’ve seen neither hide nor hare of any forks.  And yet.  One last piece of strawberry cake is calling my name.  Delightful!  Movie marathons are being checked off of my need-to-watch list with glee, and alas, fitness routines aren’t going quite as planned.  What does the word “productivity” mean?  I haven’t the slightest idea anymore.  Oh…tea!  Why yes, I’ll have another drink, thank you.  I seem to have lost my muchness.  Yesterday I woke up at 4:12 in a panic.  What is the hatter with me…have I gone mad?!  March was hare way too long and is f i n a l l y gone now.  And yet.  The insanity in the world remains, with no end in sight in this twisted guessing game in which we don’t wish to participate.

“I’ve been considering things that begin with the letter M.”  Marvel.  Mexican food.  Magical thinking.  Missed opportunities.  Marshmallows.  Magnolia.  Michael Jackson.  Muscle-building.  Merry-go-rounds.  Missouri.  March Madness.  Malarkey!  M-m-m-Malice.  In my head, malice is much more than mere ill will.  I’m thinking of a storm.  Wonderland…the beloved amusement park for the mind…has been hit by a malice.  An irresistible force of nature consisting of turmoil and confusion, resulting in excessive turbulence, causing the mind to spiral out of control.  Did I just declare a new definition for a word?  Absolutely!  Writers can naughtily break the rules of language, however they so please.  If 2 teaspoons of wishful thinking could end this eerie roller-coaster, I’d lend all the sugar in my teapot and snap the world back to a normal existence.

Now let me see.  Have you any idea when it last was that we experienced a crisis like this…a c r o s s t h e e n t i r e g l o b e ? If memory serves me right, I think it’s been awhile.  Quite.  As you can see, people who used to be the life of the party have more free time than they wish for…time to just sit and think.  And drink their tea.  And stare at their ticking pocket watches.  Alas, we’re coming face to face with our true, mad selves!  I must say that can be rather frightening.  Indeed.  We’ve had to give up so many of our precious non-essential-something-or-other-kind-of-things.  And when it comes to particular items of necessity, we find ourselves: lost at our wits’ ends.  Our realness is coming to the surface.  Our hair may even be losing its desired color.  The world we lived in before had us terribly on schedule.  Following routines.  Looking polished and posh.  Passing by people in need.  Hiding our imperfections behind pretty masks.  And.  Filtering everything to look something like perfectly perfect perfection.

I would like to propose a few thought provokings and such. What if this crisis changes people: for the better?  What if it could always be acceptable for the kids to color the brick mailboxes with chalk?  Or for the professional singers to hit the wrong notes…chock full of raw emotion…on stage for the whole world to hear?  What if people always helped their neighbors?  Were more thankful in the mundane moments?  What if they handed out permission slips for others to not have to be perfect?  What if they were gracious with themselves when not getting things done absolutely right?  What if we were those people?  And we could find beauty in the random and imperfect…and find more of ourselves along the way?

Do you hear that noise?  Listen closely.  There’s an abiding knock on the lid of your quaranteapot.  A little voice saying, “Who.  Are.  You?  You were not hardly you, but you’re much more you now.  In fact, you’re almost you.”  While we’re residing in quarantine, let’s aim to grow into: Better.  Stronger.  Muchier.  And.  More thoughtful versions of ourselves.  And if you’re juggling and struggling with a bad day or week, know this for certain when the future seems bleak: it doesn’t define you.  Things are impossible?  Only if you believe they are.  Spread love and not malice (or germs, for that matter), and make this spinning globe a better one.  You know, the malicious storm won’t last forever, my dear.

Once again, I’m seeing 3 a.m.  As you can see, I’m breaking all the Randomness writing rules tonight!  It’s best I be off to my bed now.  Odds are, I’ll be dreaming about some curious, funny things.  Raising a metaphorical cup of tea to you…here’s to finding our muchness.  Hoppy Easter, everyone!

April 12-13, 2020