I Caught a Dream
I’m always a bit nervous when the sun goes down in the evening. I mean, I’m not afraid of the dark mind you. It’s more the silence that unsettles my soul. When the sun sleeps and the stars come out there is a stillness that settles over the city. Lights go out, cars stop moving, and the kids are fast asleep in bed. It is then that I hear a rumble, gears turning and clanking. Sometimes it’s a slow clink-clank-clink-clank, and other times the gears whir as if by an engine.
I never know which kind of night it is going to be. It’s almost as if there is a cosmic flip of the coin, “To sleep, or not to sleep?” That is the question I unfortunately do not have the privilege of answering. And yet, like most people, I do enjoy sleep when it comes. But as of late it has been like climbing a mountain, almost wrestling myself into my pillow. When sleep finally does come it’s been a dark sleep. Well I imagine that most of us try to sleep in the dark, but what I mean is sleeping without dreams.
At least no nightmares you say? It might seem that way at first, but when you live without dreams it is the daytime that becomes a nightmare. I’m not a doctor or anything, but I think dreams are the little children inside of us reminding us to chase after things, to be somewhat reckless, and to imagine a future that is brighter than the dawn. But without dreams life becomes a slog in the mud, a drudgery of going day after day, week after week, year after year, not forward exactly, but onward I guess. I once heard a Preacher say that there is nothing new under the sun. He said that life was vanity and that we were but a mere whisper in time. I imagine he penned those words after a long season of living without dreams.
I completely understand, for I too, cannot recall the last time I had a dream. Without dreams the color of the world begins to fade, and it is indeed vanity. But tonight I caught a dream! It was one of those vivid dreams where you can’t quite tell if you are asleep or awake, you only know that you are alive. It’s like I’ve been living in a fog that doesn’t settle over your eyes, but over your heart, and someone dumped a bucket of cold water on me and it jerked me awake to something flitting in the distance. It was a bit like a firefly I think, and I followed it. I moved quietly for I did not want to scare the dream away. It had been so long, and yet the dream came towards me. It circled around my head and settled right into my palm. It’s like the little child inside of me is giddy with happiness saying “See! I told you that we would dream again! Isn’t it beautiful?”
And it is quite beautiful. When you catch a dream life has more purpose and vitality. It’s easier to get out of the bed in the morning, and ironically it is easier to get to sleep when you know your dream is waiting there for you. If you are like me and haven’t had a dream in a while, don’t give up hope. I know it’s hard because when you lose a dream you feel as if you may never dream again. But dream again you shall. You will have to show me when you catch yours!
