R.E. Slater - Time is a Thief

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
Oct 17, 2016

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father's footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends. There she discovers that the Mad Hatter 

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Alice Through the Looking Glass 'Time' Featurette (2016)

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Time is a Thief

adapted from

"Alice Through the Looking Glass" (2016)

by Tim Burton

Amended by R.E. Slater

September 10, 2020

Time is a thief and a villain.

It steals without giving back.

It takes whenever it wants.

It cheats one out of life and breath.

It is the harshest of cruel masters.

If I were a thief I would

Steal back lost loves,

Unmask foolish endeavors,

Cheat folly with clearer wisdom,

Do all this and more.

But a dream is not reality

Nor reality but a dream.

Who is to say which is which -

Or which is more?

We have time, you see, to learn.

What I have learned from time is this - 

I thought time was a thief stealing everything I loved,

But I see now that time gives before it takes;

That every day, every hour, is a gift. Kept by Time to be spent.

Though time is a friend to no man it is ever a friend to the wise.

I say to time as I say to all - 

If I were to steal, let me steal back love.

If I were to cheat, let me cheat every moment with love.

If I were unfaithful, may it be folly to lose love's fellowship.

And if I were to err, may I err in loving all my days.

Time's vastness is immeasurable,

It's hoary lifespan immortal,

It's meager moments everlasting.

Time is the poetry of sun, moon and stars,

It measures life lived in eternal moments.

 Time cannot be changed

but time may be learned from,

and from its learning used wisely,

benevolently, charitably,

generously, gravely, and joyously.

Time is all around us.

See it. Share it. Spend it.

It's all we have - and ever will have
c’est vrai, et riche, et rare.

R.E. Slater (Amended)
September 10, 2020

*Visual Poetic Form: A Carroll Chess Piece

@copyright R.E. Slater Publications

all rights reserved

* * * * * * * * * * *







Mad Hatter: [to Time] Is it true that you heal all wounds?

March Hare: Time is on my side!

Mad Hatter: Why is it that you wait for no man?
[covers one eye]

Mallymkun: I just can’t find the time!

[Cheshire appears behind Time]

Mallymkun: Cheshire! Where have you been? You’re late.
[lands on Time’s shoulders]

Cheshire Cat: Actually, I’m right on time.
[Cheshire disappears and the others all laugh; Hatter grabs Time’s hand]

Mad Hatter: I have time on my hand!

Time: You silly nitwits really think that I’ve not heard these cheap jabs before?
Your attempts at mockery fall flat.
[Hatter plays with Time’s shoulder pads]

Mad Hatter: Look! Time is flying!

Time: Enough! No more wasting me!

Mad Hatter: [nervously] I’m having the time of my life?












* * * * * * * * * * *

“I used to think time was a thief…”

https://catholic-link.org/dont-waste-gift-time-alice-through-looking-glass/

by Ignacio Romero

2016

~  Every Minute, Every Second is a Gift. Don’t Waste it.  ~

Tim Burton is, without a doubt, one of the most symbolic directors of the 20th century and the beginning of this century. His signature artistic imprint in his films, each and every one which he’s directed and produced, is the tendency to the strange and grotesque.

Among the titles that can be found on his CV we find The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish, to mention a few. But one of the movies that has very rich content to discuss is the latest installment of the Alice in Wonderland saga: Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Once again we stumble upon Alicia Kingsleigh, who’s now a little older (because obviously, time goes by). After spending 3 years on an expedition to China, Alicia goes back to London to find out that her ex-boyfriend, Hamish, has assumed the leadership of her father’s company.

She’s forced to choose between her father’s ship and her family’s house. Before Alicia can make her decision, she has to grow up regarding a couple of things, and, what’s better than a good trip to Wonderland to achieve this?

In the “land of dreams,” Alicia finds out that the Mad Hatter is agonizing and that saving his family, who all died in the past, is the only cure to save him. To succeed, she will have to meet the personification of time.

The movie is tremendously illustrative. It poses many subjects that no one can ignore, for instance:  (1) time as something gifted to us, (2) the relationship with our family members and (3) the conscience that there is no time like the present. These are the fundamental points to take into account after (or before) watching the movie:

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Aug 11, 2016

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father's footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends. There she discovers that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) has lost his Muchness, so the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) sends her on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock that powers all time. Returning to the past, she embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out.

1. Time as a gift

Frequently, one is on the run and has “no time to lose.” We assume that time is our own and that we give it out freely. We take possession of what is given to us daily and we forget that the time we dispose of as if we’d won it is, in reality, a gift from God.

“I used to think time was a thief. But you give before you take.

Time is a gift. Every minute. Every second,” Alicia says to Time.

What a phrase: “I used to think time was a thief.” How many times has it crossed our minds that someone or something “stole a minute of my time”? Or that “time slipped through my fingers”? As humans, we tend to appropriate things that are not really ours.

It’s good to become aware that all these things are gifts we receive. That every time we open our eyes, we are given one more day on Earth and we can’t get attached since the time that was given to us, sooner or later, ends.

“Man can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time;

it all comes to him by pure gift” (C.S Lewis).

2. The value of time: The Past

“Everything in its proper time and place.” We often hear this phrase. The movie gives it a whole new definition… or it reaffirms it in a masterly way. “You might not change the past but you might learn something from it.” What happened in the past, stays in the past. It’s not something we should forget, but we must leave it where it belongs, in its time (past) and space.

3. The value of time: The Present

Holding onto the past to try to change it is a mistake. It is, in fact, a temptation, since God calls us to live the present. “For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity” says C.S. Lewis, and he’s right.

The past, as Mr. Time says in the movie, has a pedagogical function: we have to learn from its examples and counterexamples what we should do and what we should avoid. A mistake from the past can’t be avoided but amended. Time is not determinist, it doesn’t force us to follow a certain course, decided based on our actions, but instead, we can mold what happens to us, we can mend our mistakes.

The present also has incredible value. Everyone can be holy and happy today. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today. We have to take the daily opportunities that God gives us to achieve that daily sanctity. “What ought I to do to be holy, Father?” – used to ask Therese of Lisieux to her spiritual guide – “Make your bed well” – answered the priest. The present is the moment for doing things correctly, the small things: cleaning the kitchen, making the bed, smiling at someone who’s in a bad mood, etc.

4. The value of forgiveness

It’s incredible how the power of forgiveness is so underestimated. How many conflicts all over the world would be solved if each one of us were able to look within ourselves, recognize our own faults and sincerely repent to him or her whom we hurt! In the movie, the White Queen and the Queen of Hearts are a portrait of this.

A problem from the past that, as mentioned before, cannot be changed, is solved by a simple “I’m very sorry. If it’s not too late, can you forgive me?” Asking forgiveness and giving it is not, as it is often defined, simply forgetting what happened. It’s much more than that. To forget is only a part of it. Forgiving is healing the wound that was caused in the past.

To forgive is saying: “I accept your mistake and appreciate that you recognize it, let’s forget about it and go back to our fraternal communion.” In the Gospel, Jesus says,

“Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

We need reconciliation, not only from God in the sacrament of confession, but also from our siblings, friends and neighbors in our everyday lives. Jesus is the example of He who forgives. He is the one we have to imitate, so we can say in our daily prayer: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

[This post originally appeared here for Catholic-Link Spanish. It was translated into English by Maria Isabel Giraldo.]

* * * * * * * * * * *

The Walrus and the Carpenter

by Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There

“The sun was shining on the sea,

Shining with all his might:

He did his very best to make

The billows smooth and bright--

And this was odd, because it was

The middle of the night.

The moon was shining sulkily,

Because she thought the sun

Had got no business to be there

After the day was done--

"It's very rude of him," she said,

"To come and spoil the fun!"

The sea was wet as wet could be,

The sands were dry as dry.

You could not see a cloud, because

No cloud was in the sky:

No birds were flying over head--

There were no birds to fly.

The Walrus and the Carpenter

Were walking close at hand;

They wept like anything to see

Such quantities of sand:

"If this were only cleared away,"

They said, "it WOULD be grand!"

"If seven maids with seven mops

Swept it for half a year,

Do you suppose," the Walrus said,

"That they could get it clear?"

"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,

And shed a bitter tear.

"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"

The Walrus did beseech.

"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,

Along the briny beach:

We cannot do with more than four,

To give a hand to each."

The eldest Oyster looked at him.

But never a word he said:

The eldest Oyster winked his eye,

And shook his heavy head--

Meaning to say he did not choose

To leave the oyster-bed.

But four young oysters hurried up,

All eager for the treat:

Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,

Their shoes were clean and neat--

And this was odd, because, you know,

They hadn't any feet.

Four other Oysters followed them,

And yet another four;

And thick and fast they came at last,

And more, and more, and more--

All hopping through the frothy waves,

And scrambling to the shore.

The Walrus and the Carpenter

Walked on a mile or so,

And then they rested on a rock

Conveniently low:

And all the little Oysters stood

And waited in a row.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--

Of cabbages--and kings--

And why the sea is boiling hot--

And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,

"Before we have our chat;

For some of us are out of breath,

And all of us are fat!"

"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.

They thanked him much for that.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,

"Is what we chiefly need:

Pepper and vinegar besides

Are very good indeed--

Now if you're ready Oysters dear,

We can begin to feed."

"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,

Turning a little blue,

"After such kindness, that would be

A dismal thing to do!"

"The night is fine," the Walrus said

"Do you admire the view?

"It was so kind of you to come!

And you are very nice!"

The Carpenter said nothing but

"Cut us another slice:

I wish you were not quite so deaf--

I've had to ask you twice!"

"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,

"To play them such a trick,

After we've brought them out so far,

And made them trot so quick!"

The Carpenter said nothing but

"The butter's spread too thick!"

"I weep for you," the Walrus said.

"I deeply sympathize."

With sobs and tears he sorted out

Those of the largest size.

Holding his pocket handkerchief

Before his streaming eyes.

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter.

"You've had a pleasant run!

Shall we be trotting home again?"

But answer came there none--

And that was scarcely odd, because

They'd eaten every one.”