I'm finally getting down to writing this because I met a bunch of Belgian students in school. When I was in Brussels on the way back from the US, I walked around the airport and and I saw this at Duty Free :
I don't really know what the Duty Free marketing department intended when they made that their slogan.
The phrase, as far as I can tell, originates from The Matrix. The video clip (it won't allow me to embed the video) will give you a better idea, rather than me narrating the story.
It was extremely amusing, watching that movie on the plane ride and then bumping into that poster at the airport. I recalled the scene from Alice in Wonderland (the Tim Burton version) where Alice is being harassed by her relatives to marry that chump from her childhood. It seems like such an apt metaphor and when it all clicked, I smiled, and promised to follow that White Rabbit.
A lot of times, we live in our own little bubble when moving in the world around us. There's a tunnel vision that restricts what we can see, what we can imagine, and hence, the opportunities available to us.
I don't think Alice would have noticed the Rabbit if she was caught up in that conversation with her future Mother-in-law. She first saw it from the corner of her eyes, and even then she wasn't sure. It was clearly a non-event to the other lady, who tried to bring Alice back into the conversation, she also threatened to send her dogs behind the rabbit. That is precisely what other people (and sometimes we) do to our rabbit. A lot of times we simply ignore it and focus on "more important" things.
Yet she persists. Later on in the scene, the rabbit's near a bush, just out of everyone else's sight but clearly visible to her. He's frantically pointing to his watch. Time is running out and she needs to make a decision. It's not an easy decision, there's a garden full of people pressuring her into accepting a wedding proposal, there's a chump on his knees with an expectant expression on his face.
It's an uncomfortable situation. It's not a clear cut decision, but Alice (and later Neo) decides to take a plunge, and she runs after the rabbit like she's never run before. And the Rabbit takes her to a world beyond her wildest dreams.
I just rewatched that scene from the movie and, keeping in mind all those little nuances, it's a powerful message. In every aspect of our lives, our careers, relationships, hobbies, there's a little, mischevious rabbit lurking just outside our field of view. Everything conspires to distract us, make us ignore him, our "priorities" stop us from trying to follow him. It's sometimes uncomfortable because it means getting off the beaten track. Sometimes, we also have to compromise on something else, or someone is going to disagree (or worse, shout) at us. We do not have forever to make a decision. Yet, he dangles in front of us, a possibility of taking us to another dimension. When you follow the White Rabbit, be prepared for an adventure.
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