Dreaming… It’s A Good Thing

Do you ever wish you could leave the everyday behind and retreat forever into your imagination’s happy place? Children have the advantage over us adults on that score, slipping seamlessly between the real world and dreamscape. “Fine when you’re a kid,” adults moan en masse, “but I’ve too many important things to take care of!” I suppose, it’s true enough. Wandering unicorn inhabited fields of wildflowers instead of changing your baby’s soiled nappy is irresponsible. Bottom line (pun intended)? Adulthood doesn’t abide silliness or the wasting of precious time in daydreams. Life is hard work and not to be taken lightly.

Well, I’d like to challenge the irrefutable “hard” and ask that, for a moment, we look at life through a different lens. I think the one we’re using is simply too small. A less narrow view might show that in the whole of a day, there’s time to find a seat by a babbling brook, watch an eagle soar, or do a jig on Everest’s peak. Let’s pretend for a minute or three, shall we? Go on. Pretend with vigour. Dream that dream. I’ll wait…

…

Take your time. I’m happily finishing some edits in my wee villa on the Amalfi Coast. Ooh, wait. I’ve been invited to sail to Corfu for lunch. The azure sea awaits. And, my sojourn might take longer than expected because we’re detouring north to look for fairies on Skye.

…

See? That didn’t take long. Was it pleasant? Did heroes prevail and were monsters subdued? I hope so. Further, I’ll bet you all the camellia sinensis in China, that the world is still spinning on its very grown-up axis.

These days, I admit I’m retreating into my imagination more than ever. Meditation continues to calm and centre me, but when not sitting, I am compelled to engage in the day-to-day from a distance, far removed from the chaos and barbaric violence wrought of our insatiable greed, obsessions, and fears.

From afar, I survey the world with the utmost compassion. There is no need to fuel relentless dramas or regurgitate woe-is-me stories. Tucked safely away, I am blanketed in the warmth of grace woven by gratitude. From my vantage point I see countless scenes of unconditional love and kindness. Listening, I hear belly-laughs, songs of peace, and tender accolades. No garbage clutters the landscape, no smog muddies the air.

Of course, it could be said I’m ignoring, running away from the truth and grabbing my rose-coloured glasses as I go. I would counter that what I see and hear is real because when I imagine only the best in us; the awakened, evolved parts of us, the us that no matter what remains giving and thoughtful and wise, that is what exists – all around.

Now, I know I’ve written similar platitudes over all these years, filling pages with words of hope via hundreds of wishes. And it is suggested on occasion that my lofty sentiments do little to help pay that mortgage, cure the sick, or stop a bomb. Still, they remain my constant companions bolstering me no matter what.

So, I’ve a wish as 2018 draws to a close. It starts like this… Imagine.

Until tomorrow…