Down the Rabbit Hole

I took this picture today at work, and the first (and only) thing that popped into my mind was the whole "down the rabbit hole" phenomenon.  Tried as I might, I could not come up with one other thing to talk about that would be relatively interesting and somewhat relevant to the picture.  (Truth be told... I'm a bit distracted by the weather and the impending storm.  But the tv is now off, the kitties are sleeping, and our day is coming to an end.  It's nice and relaxing actually.)  And although my sole knowledge of "down the rabbit hole" comes from the various musings of the on-screen adaptations of 'Alice in Wonderland' and other random connections made between real life and the story, I set out tonight to get some sort of literary synopsis that would put words to an image of what had popped into my head.  I think it's best to know where these sorts of things come from...

My google search led me first to urbandictionary.com.  I find it hard to be disappointed by a site that takes those "street smarts" and put them in a place that I can easily access and therefore interpret.  In the sense of "down the rabbit hole", it is [first] a reference to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.  It can refer to a "period of chaos or confusion" and can also pertain to "taking a hallucinogenic" which some could argue Carroll's novel to be about.

Another site I ran across was a blog titled "Going Down the Rabbit Hole".  I enjoyed perusing this blog because it talked about metaphysics, rituals, choice, spirituality, etc... and is one of those blogs that will get you to "think".  One particular post that I enjoyed was "Something about Rituals" and it discussed the positivity of shaking up one's rituals on a daily basis as a means to change yourself.  And I quote: "It’s amazing what’ll open up in your world. You’ll jar your brain away and your attention will shift. Embrace the world you are walking through and shake it up daily. Watch what happens."

Merriam-Webster also notes the origins of the phrase from Carroll, and is similar to urbandictionary.com in saying that a "rabbit hole" is a "bizarre or difficult state or situation".

All in all though, when I look at this picture, I see a dark tunnel with a light at the end, and around it.  It's not particularly troubling or chaotic, but rather peaceful.  Maybe it's because of the light around it, or maybe it's because the tunnel is straight and not crooked, or maybe it's because it is going straight out in front of me, instead of falling to a darkness below me.  But however I look at it, there is still the sense of it being a rabbit hole.  It alludes to the book, and makes me think of ticking clocks, mad-hatter tea parties, and Johnny Depp.  I think I need to read the story, or stories for that matter, and then maybe I would feel slightly more inclined to judge.  Slightly.