Although I don't know what the hell they were thinking in the sequels, I've always marveled at the plot line of the Matrix, and how it can reflect daily life. From religion, politics, marketing, and more, there's a wonderful and elegant allegory to be applied: the concepts of 'sleeping and feeding the machine' vs 'being awake to and aware of the realities'. And I think this has much to do with my present undercurrent of malaise and melancholy. I've been 'awake' for a few weeks, aware of mortality, connected to family and friends, and in some ways, just not having to shave or get up and do anything beyond just 'being'. And now it's time to go back to work. It's time to join the routine daily pilgrimage in line with the thousands of other worker-bees, to turn my thoughts and attention away from 'being', and on to tasks and responsibilities that keep the cogs in motion, feed the machine, and provide for my family.
But I don't want to. I feel like I'm walking around in a haze, and everything is flickering as if it's illuminated by a faulty florescent light. I feel like I'm at a precipice, standing on the edge of real and routine. Yet there's no true option. The commitments and responsibilities dictate my restraint, and the need to keep in lock step with the masses, ensuring provisions for myself and my family.
It feels like a think film on the skin of my psyche. But, here I go, taking the blue pill, and hoping I'll be able to keep one eye slightly open along the way.
Morpheus: I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice. Tumbling down the rabbit hole?Neo: You could say that.Morpheus: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he's expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?Neo: No.Morpheus: Why not?Neo: 'Cause I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. Like a splinter in your mind -- driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?Neo: The Matrix?Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is? The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, or when go to church or when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.Neo: What truth?Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind. Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.