Coming Out of The Rabbit Hole

1A few years ago, there was a popular question that even made it into some Television commercials, it was, 'Where you at?' Perhaps it was not considered to be proper English, but you always got the message, you were not necessarily being asked your location, it often was meant to ask 'how are you doing, what’s your state of mind, are you alright? While engaging in a conversation with someone, you might see a kind of blank stare in their eyes and ask them, you okay, where you at?' Nowadays it’s a question people are asking themselves, where am I at. When our emotional battles, stress related depression, and mental challenges send us to either unfamiliar places or a place that has become all too familiar, we find ourselves in an internal conversation asking ourselves, where am I and how did I get here - Again. Well, I have good news and better news for you. The good news is there is a name for where you at, and the even better news is there is something you can do about it. You can come out of it. Now I like watching the Nature channel, (don’t hate). Not only do I find it educational, but I also enjoy seeing how wonderfully made and orchestrated this creation works. But I also learn how much we as human beings mimic or display characteristics found in the natural environment. One day while watching what might have been animal kingdom or something like that, I had a moment where I wished my Television recorder was working. There was a rabbit, it slowly, cautiously stuck its head out of its rabbit hole. Then came completely out of its hole, looked around and on hearing, perhaps another animal’s sound quickly ran back down the rabbit hole. That single incident was great, it showed the rabbits agility, its cautious nature, and smarts by staying close to its rabbit hole, but what happened after that is what made me wish I had my video recorder working at that time. The rabbit came out again and again and ran back down the rabbit hole over and over again. Responding to the slightest sound, perhaps even a strong breeze.The rabbits’ repeated trips down the rabbit hole made me reflect on human behavior, the tendency of some of us to stay close to our comfort zone, our personal rabbit hole and at the slightest trigger or feeling of discomfort quickly run back into our familiar place of depression, emotional chaos, and mental challenges. The term rabbit hole was popularized by author Lewis Carroll’s 1865 classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Eventually it became a metaphor for a place that transports someone into a wonderfully (or troublingly) surreal state or situation. A strange, problematic, difficult, complex, or chaotic state of mind. It may sound a little too familiar. Ah but I promised you good news and even better news, so here goes. If the description of the rabbit hole sounds familiar, sounds like your zip code, as a sequel to the 'First and Second Self', this book is all about 'Coming out of The Rabbit Hole'. And hopefully never going back.