Five big learnings from one tiny classic
Revisiting Alice's wonderland
There is a charm in reading children’s classics. It takes us back to childhood. I read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland when I was a kid. It was nothing more than a story of a little girl going through all kinds of craziness in a strange world. Reading it now was a whole new experience. I could see so many life lessons hidden in the madness. I even got my kids to reread it. They did, and we had some great conversations around it. So much so that we went on and created a video about it! I was planning on sharing it with you today but underestimated the editing time. I can’t wait to finish it and show you my tiny new project!
Today’s edition is about the five big life lessons I came across from reading this classic meant for tiny kids.
Being curious is exciting (& essential) at all ages
We are all born curious. Somewhere along the way, we tend to lose this essential life skill. We start to tell ourselves that we have more important things to focus on than satisfying our urge to explore that interesting thing we came across. After all, that interesting thing isn’t going to help me with my work or pay the bills. 💭
So we stay focussed on things that are “important” and end up burying our curiosity time and again.
Alice shows us that it’s not the way to live life. There is no life with excitement. There is no excitement without curiosity.
In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.
She could have chosen the obvious thing to do that day while chilling with her sister in the park that day — Make a daisy chain 🌼🌼🌼. Instead, she decides to follow the peculiar-looking rabbit. 🐇Even while she was falling down the deep well, she was busy observing the sides of the walls, filled with cupboards and bookshelves, with maps and pictures hanging in them.
Alice’s curiosity led her to all her adventures.
Being curious is exciting. When you discover something that piques your interest, don't hold back your curiosity. Find out more about it, ask questions, go all the way in...just like Alice went all the way down the very deep well.
Curiosity drives the best kind of learning. When you learn something out of your curiosity, it's memorable and a lot of fun.
Question for you:
What is something exciting that you recently came across and want to find more about? It may or may not be about your work.
When you choose to go down a rabbit hole, you discover new things, meet new people, and even grow as a person. And that brings us to our next learning from the book. ⬇️
We are constantly figuring out ourselves (as we should)
At one point of time, Alice meets the caterpillar. 🐛 By this time, she had been shrunk, grown into a giant, shrunk back…multiple times. She had been through so many different sizes and weird experiences that she didn’t know what kind of person she was turning into. No wonder when the caterpillar asks her about who she is, she has a tough time explaining.
The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.
“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”
Even adults have a tough time answering, "Who are you?"
We are constantly changing with different life experiences. You are not exactly the same person you were years, months, or even weeks ago, and that's perfectly fine. It's okay to feel like you're not yourself, like Alice says, "I'm not myself, you see."
You’re changing every day and that's okay.
You don't have to stay stuck in the past. Welcome the change.
Like the caterpillar, who thinks there's nothing wrong with changing often. After all, a caterpillar symbolizes change.
Question for you:
What changes do you see in yourself from last year? Are you happy with those changes?
By welcoming change, we can be more open to rediscovering ourselves time and again. It also helps us respect others for their quirky selves.
Everyone’s mad (including you!)
Throughout the book, Alice meets all sorts of crazy people:
White Rabbit is always panicking.
Hatter always makes no sense.
Duchess is always aggressive.
Cheshire Cat is always cryptic.
Alice confides in the wise Cheshire cat about her feelings:
"But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
Although Alice finds everyone weird, she still tries to understand everyone and their crazy ways, and even makes friends along the way.
When we learn to respect others for their unique quirks, we open doors to meaningful connections and better friendships.
Question for you:
What’s one weird thing about two of your closest friends? Do you like it or dislike it about them?
Know where you’re headed (roughly)
“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.”
This conversation with the Cheshire cat teaches us an important lesson about direction and purpose. If you don't know where you want to go, any path will take you there. You'll end up somewhere, but it might not be where you want to be.
To have control over your life, know the direction where you’re headed. Goals can keep changing as you grow and learn more. Direction ensures you don't end up somewhere random. You don’t need to know your life’s purpose. Just figure out what you want to do in the coming week. Take it one week at a time.
Question for you:
What is something you want to do this year? What can you do about it next week?
Now to the last learning. ⬇️
There’s no escaping jerks
Alice encounters the Red Queen who is always threatening to chop off someone's head. It's intimidating, but Alice learns to stand her ground.
“Talking of axes,” said the Duchess, “chop off her head!”
Bullies are bullies, whether it’s a kid who teases you at school or a boss who’s always criticizing you.
We must stand up for ourselves. No matter how intimidating they might seem.
Question for you:
Who’s one annoying person you can’t stand? What’s your strategy to handle them when you meet them?
Is there another classic from childhood you’d like to revisit? Let me know in comments/emails.
Reading classics is not just about understanding the story better, it's about learning to think better.
Until next time 🙌