Delight #001: Between Asleep And Awake

Between asleep and awake is where I have found a happy place.

Unfettered by natural rules such as gravity, time and space, my imagination runs free in this place. Sometimes, my thoughts take flight and I visit strange and wondrous sites. Sometimes, I visit the past and just occasionally, I get veiled glimpses of what I believe the future may look like. Not surprisingly, there’s usually a song playing in the background which is often the same song that is stuck in my brain the rest of the day. Perhaps it was the last song I heard the day before, or one I remembered while visiting this place.

It is hard to reach this place and I cannot get there every day, but when I do get to visit, it is difficult to leave. Sadly, even when I go there is a limit to my visits for I cannot remain in these realms permanently. Reality creeps in behind me, taps on the shoulder and reminds me I have to get up, start the day and do the needful. Responsibility is a cruel task master and it is always around the corner to remind me of what I need to be doing, what I should be doing, or what I could be doing instead of wasting the day in such a happy place.

And yet…the older I get the more I think about that place during the day, especially on days which started with a visit. I enjoy trying to remember all I saw while I was there. There is a peace there which I cannot explain. There is a comfort there which I cannot describe. And I’m left with a longing to return to that place as soon as I can. It’s a lot like eating really good ice cream. It is a wondrous thing when you get the bowl. It’s soothing and sweet and magical as you eat it. But there is sadness when the spoon strikes the bottom of the bowl and there is no more.

This does not mean I wish leave the real world and spend the rest of my waking hours in that place any more than I can eat ice cream 24/7. There is a lot to love about the real world. But there is a healing quality to regular visits to that special place which is more powerful than taking vitamins. They say that when you dream, you are healing your mind and maybe this place I’m writing about is just another dream. But I don’t remember my dreams for the most part and I do remember this place.

I hope you find a similar place so safe and comforting that you can let your mind drift and float away to the exotic places in your mind.

Just look for it somewhere between asleep and awake.