In a daydream

I’m going to try something different (and potentially dangerous) here. I had a couple of dreams over the weekend that I just need to share. Yes, I know, hearing about someone else’s dream is quite possibly the most boring thing imaginable. Heck, I even have a stock response whenever someone starts telling me about theirs…

Random Person: “Man, I had the weirdest dream last night…”
EC: “You mean the one where you are standing on a pile of corpses with a sword raised high and this deep voice from the heavens intones ‘This is your destiny my child. The streets shall flow with the blood of your enemies. All that you see will be yours to command. You are the chosen one.’”
Random Person (looks at me blankly)
EC: “Or maybe that’s just me.”

So, just a warning, this could prove boring. But my mind is still trying to figure out what my subconscious was telling me.

The first one had me coming home from work to my apartment to walk into my bathroom and find writing over all the walls. Just words and pictures everywhere, covering every surface and creating an image that moved beyond graffiti and into a collage. As I started to get very upset at whoever ruined my place I started looking at it and I found that what was written on the walls were inspirational messages from everyone that I knew. A quote from a classmate, a note from a friend, encouragement from all corners, a picture that provided solace to someone, that was what was surrounding me. I just found that to be one of the neatest images that I’ve ever come up with and I wasn’t even thinking at the time. It almost makes you want to try it in real life (well, other than the safety deposit aspect of it all).

The other one seems more basic on the surface but it will stay with me for a long time. I’ve mentioned in here my high school English teacher who was one of the first people to see potential in me and try to get me out of my shell. And though he passed away a number of years ago he still crosses my mind from time to time. Well, a few night’s ago I ran into him in my dream and we had the following conversation.

Kevin: “So how is it going Chris?”
EC: “Not bad. I think I have things under control and moving in the right direction.”
Kevin: “Are you sure?”

And then I woke up. Just like that. And I remembered that I had a similar dream two years ago when I graduated business school. I dreamt that I was at a graduation banquet with my MBA classmates and Kevin was giving the commencement speech and directed it to me. Saying that I’ve accomplished much but there is a big future out there ahead of me. And now I’m wondering what he meant by saying, “Are you sure?” Like maybe it is time to stop resting on past laurels and making some new history. It was a question and a challenge and encouragement all at the same time.

I know that it is odd that I am talking about something that is most likely my subconscious running wild due to sleep deprivation but I do ponder these things. I’m someone who feels that there is a thin line between what we call reality and what exists beyond our senses. And I find it a little more than coincidence that when I find myself at a crossroads in my life I have an old friend show up in a dream and ask me questions that I really need to understand. At the least, it is nice to have the feeling that he is still out there, watching over me and helping me out every once in a while.