Thursday, December 10, 2009

Night before last I dreamt I was swimming. As so often happens in dreams I was both able to inhabit my body and step away from it. Looking through my eyes, I saw the world underwater. It was murky and beautiful, and within my dream, dreamlike. From far away at treetop level I saw me below, floating on the surface of what must have been a forest pool. I was back-stroking, moving languidly, creating ripples around me. Then I woke.

I cant swim. Not in real life. So this should have been a most delicious dream. My kids have those flying dreams that only children can have. Listening to them talk afterward, I conclude there is pleasure in dreaming of the impossible.

But swimming... My children can all swim. I change the subject when they bring up my inability. I act blase because I fear them seeing how poor I feel about this thing I can't do.

I woke up from my dream of swimming and immediately felt how sad it was to dream of the possible as if it were impossible.

4 comments:

  1. Lovely. Great fan of your prose. By the way, on the subject of possibilities, did you hear about the sail? It's on my blog! Tell your kids about it, too :)

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  2. It is nicely written. Dreams rule many thoughts that spark from sub conscious mind. Many stories come and go by, however very few make a note about it; may be because very few know how to bring thoughts into a document, like you did. I felt realy great to know about your possessing SHAKTI BHATT MEMORIAL FIRST BOOK PRIZE. In fact, I came to know about you because of the above mentioned memorabilia. I read Hindu Newspaper, its realy great to find a pearl from ocean, you. I am great grandson of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (Popularly known as Katha Shilpi in West Bengal).
    - Akash Mukherjee.
    (email: directors.akash@gmail.com).

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  3. I can't swim either, and I feel that lack very much too... I tried to learn for some time as a kid. I remember the teacher once saying, "When you relax and float, it's the best feeling in the world". Having recently discovered how to pleasure myself I thought she HAD to be wrong. *Grin*. And now I wonder what I missed...

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