There’s something incredible about our dreams; being able to close our eyes on the day-to-day reality we experience, only to open them to another world that exists alongside the ‘real’ life we experience. The subconscious mind. One might question whether or not this world is ‘more’ real than our awake hours, as the subconscious mind runs without ceasing. Regardless of your stance on that – it’s a very powerful asset when we pay attention to it.
I’ve always been a big believer in the notion of ‘augmented reality’; taking everyday experiences and augmenting them with various experiential additives. This could be sharing an experience with somebody else, immersing yourself in a sensory experience (e.g. audio, lighting, etc.) or depriving oneself from sensory experiences; blackout lighting, etc. There are countless other ways to enhance your daily experience. I believe our lives are very similar to the light spectrum; even one or two additional visible spectrum’s can open up an entire new world that existed right before your eyes.
Last night, I had an incredible experience in one of my dreams. I was convicted to a death sentence, with 24 hours to report in for my execution. This was, quite possibly, one of the most surreal dreams I’ve had in my entire life. The feeling of helplessness and anxiety was indescribable; as if life were moving at the speed of light towards an unpleasant destination and I was helpless to bring it to a halt. With nobody but my older brother in the room with me, I felt a strong urgency to speak to my other family members and plead with them to live their lives with full appreciation of every moment.
It was such a profound dream because I was fully immersed in the illusion of reality I was presented with. Waking up from this dream/nightmare was a moment of bittersweet victory. I woke up to less-than-ideal circumstances. However, I had the full appreciation of life that I craved in the dream. Everything seems free, open, and full of opportunity.
Pinching off the IV’s that were dripping their poison into my veins, I asked to see a picture of a butterfly. For some reason, the beauty and freedom a butterfly emulates was the last thing I wanted to see, as it was the ultimate expression of freedom, the total opposite of where I was in the dream. With visions of a flying butterfly, I fell into a very, very deep sleep.
Life is such a treasure and a gift. It saddens me to see the state of mind we live in as Americans, where our lives are so good that we forget to appreciate them for the gift they are. In other countries, family has to stick together for survival; living within communities that function as societal referees that keep the common good in order. Here, we’re so spoiled with the quality of life we have that we take to arguing politics, religion, and personality differences with the ones we’re supposed to love most.
This beautiful thing called ‘life’ is the most important and valuable gift we have. Every second of it is worth savoring with a passionate lust for life we frequently only see in our household pets.
Featured Image From Deviantart
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