When the Dreamer Dreamed

5

5Of course, I'm being unfair.

Who am I?

I could be coy here and say, "Call me Ishmael." As we certainly are going into the belly of the beast on this one.

But no, I am you - as my metaphysician tells me. We are all connected and part of Being - and yes, that's still hard for me to swallow, even though I've reached satori, been enlightened, "seen the light" and all that.

It's really not that hard. But other people have a hard time with it, seemingly. Or they just don't care to look up as they open a door to see whether there's a bucket of water poised up there. Splash! And then it's kismet, fate, karma, etc. Also known as needing a change of clothes.

Once I opened that door to see that things are caused - all of them - by our own thoughts, then it took some major brain-creaking to get past the hurdles I set up for myself so long ago.

What do I look like? Well, it depends what dream I'm in. Generally, it's a body about 6 ft tall (190 cm. plus-or-minus) auburn hair which blonds in the summer, green eyes which change according to weather and season - not out of shape, but not ready to run any marathon. Don't get sick much. But that's a lot of other reasons.

I dress just like you. Casual when I can get away with it - which is most of the time these days. But again, it's what I'm dreaming that counts.

This dream stuff. Keeps coming up.

- - - -

Act IIIa[Enter stage left, Hawaiian shaman - kahuna kapua. No ceremonial robes, just jeans, sandals, sweatshirt with cut off sleeves. Something out of a Gidget movie.]

Kahuna. "Hey, howsit?"

Ishmael. "You want to tell them about this dream stuff?"

Kahuna."What would you like me to say?"

Ishmael. "Well, maybe explain how it is that life is a dream."

Kahuna."You just did. Anything else?"

Ishmael. "Well, how about what it all means?"

Kahuna. "That's whatever you think it is."

Ishmael. "Oh come on, let's be fair to these people."

Kahuna. "OK, but life isn't necessarily fair - or is it?"

Ishmael. (Sigh.) "Now you can all see what I've been up against. Thanks, Doc."

[Exit stage right, smiling, shaman-kapua.]

- - - -

This is where the funny thing happened. But you wouldn't think of it that way at the time.