A Pool of Tears

“However, she soon make out that she was in the pool of tears which she had wept when she was nine feet high.“ –Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

One of the coolest things about really great books is that no matter how many times you read them, you always discover more. I’ve been a reader from the very time I learned to read. In fact, I’m one of those people that tend to read everything around me. It has been a life long struggle to not read things I shouldn’t be reading because it makes me look like I’m snooping. I’m not though. I am a compulsive reader. But that’s not what I was thinking when I began writing here about this quote from my beloved Alice book.

I had a difficult time choosing a book so I ended up closing my eyes and pulled out this one. When I ended up with the above quote, I gave it some thought, separate from the story that I know. It really can be a stand alone quote, can’t it? Because who of us haven’t found ourselves to be splashing around, sputtering and trying to keep our heads above a mess of our own making? I tend to be my own worst enemy, letting my anxiety sky rocket at times. It’s something that I have struggled to keep in check. Unfortunately, I’m usually up to my neck in it by the time I recognize it for what it is and then it’s difficult to talk myself down. Most definitely a pool of my own tears.

If you wanted to, you could look at the tears as self-pity, too. That’s what Alice was doing, right? And it’s very easy to get caught up in a pity party of epic proportions. You can insert any emotion and have a similar problem. I think regardless of the reason behind the tears is the realization that you control how you react.

You can bob in the water, gasping for air every time your head breaks the surface. You can flail and flap and make a commotion. You can sink to the bottom of the pool and lay there waiting for someone to scoop you up. Or you can doggie paddle yourself over to the shore and get yourself out of it. I’m more of a doggie paddler myself. How about you?

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “point.” Open a book on your lap, close your eyes, and put your finger on the page. Whatever you land on, whether it be a word, a phrase, or a sentence, write about it. Enjoy!

Happy Saturday!

-Kat