Wish Wish, Dream on, Dream on
I have been reading Babara for only a little while recently, but her blog is a great attention-grabber. I found a particular challenge that she put to her readers. This post threw me, but I managed to complete her task.
You should try it because it's interactive and fun! It got me thinking about whether life is the way it is because every living thing has a unique drive, a subconscious urge, an innate purpose to be what it is, or whether it's merely an accident occuring within the physical limits of a life form's design that predetermines its role. It's easy to get into arguing about what human nature is when we try to interpret dreams, trying to find the teleological outcome ie.this person is mad, or this person has castration anxiety which will ultimately lead to an aberrant paraphilia wishes and dreams are often attributed as being the core of somebody. An example is in the movie "Adaptations" when the one twin turns to the other and says: "you are what you love." I take being "what you love" as a poetic expression of being what you want to be, what you dream to be. Dreams are used synonomously with desires, wants, plans, but maybe when it comes down to it, what's rattling through our heads at night is a nonsensical story that we should leave as nonsensical. However, I dare to stir things up more than that.
Some people don't take dreams seriously. They're just brain garbage. Some people have justified war by referring to the fact that Freud said we have a death instinct as a species. If our instincts of aggression, fear, etc. can be played out in dreams, then could dreams be like a self-reflex? If dreams are like a reflex which causes us to focus our attention on wishes, then is our future determined by how we react to the past? I would think so. Yet, it seems too complex to analize in this day and age. What dreams mean depends on how they continue unfolding in time and what that person's subjective symbology is to them. However, our dreams can't be that far off of each others. We all have similar experiences. Our impressions must be nurtured at least partly as a collective. So then, are our dreams spun in the events of our daily lives or are our daily lives the result of our dreams? Maybe they're both, which is why this exercise is worth while.
The question is: Can you think of 5 things you'd wish to have, see, do, or otherwise experience before you die?
It can be hard to isolate what we want without thinking about how this would realistically throw everything else in reality off. There's an episode of Simpsons where Homer goes back in time, but because of his choices, he ends up destroying the present. I forget what he does, but it creates a chain reaction that is catastrophic. Wishes don't come true all the time, because if they did, something else would break down. We've all heard the expression "it's too good to be true" but why should something be false just because it's good? If we all got our way, I'm sure things just wouldn't work. If you got the BMW you wanted, would the lack of steel and paint in the rest of the universe cause it to implode? I don't know. Nevermind that. However, I just wanted to make the point that we're held together both by our wishes and our failures, in mutual tension. Maybe our dreams are meant to set things back in a positive direction. Listen to your soul. What do you wish for?
I think it's something to think about regularly. We have immediate goals, but we also have long term goals and needs. I'd imagine my five wishes would be different again if I did this in five minutes, but as it is,
My five were:
(1)To not lose compassion. "The greatest gift that you can learn, is to love, and be loved in return"
(2)Tour Europe as a musician or journalist, or have some purpose that is also entertaining to me.
(3)See the buffalo come back, and roam the wild.
(4)See an end to this prejudicial generalized anomousity between different religions and ethnicities BS.
(5)See a comprehensive program to deal with toxic waste disposal safely implemented (or in other words, to NOT see the plan to strap it to rockets and launch it into outter space) and develop an energy resource besides fossil fuels that can allow mass transportation to function affordably.
You should try it because it's interactive and fun! It got me thinking about whether life is the way it is because every living thing has a unique drive, a subconscious urge, an innate purpose to be what it is, or whether it's merely an accident occuring within the physical limits of a life form's design that predetermines its role. It's easy to get into arguing about what human nature is when we try to interpret dreams, trying to find the teleological outcome ie.this person is mad, or this person has castration anxiety which will ultimately lead to an aberrant paraphilia wishes and dreams are often attributed as being the core of somebody. An example is in the movie "Adaptations" when the one twin turns to the other and says: "you are what you love." I take being "what you love" as a poetic expression of being what you want to be, what you dream to be. Dreams are used synonomously with desires, wants, plans, but maybe when it comes down to it, what's rattling through our heads at night is a nonsensical story that we should leave as nonsensical. However, I dare to stir things up more than that.
Some people don't take dreams seriously. They're just brain garbage. Some people have justified war by referring to the fact that Freud said we have a death instinct as a species. If our instincts of aggression, fear, etc. can be played out in dreams, then could dreams be like a self-reflex? If dreams are like a reflex which causes us to focus our attention on wishes, then is our future determined by how we react to the past? I would think so. Yet, it seems too complex to analize in this day and age. What dreams mean depends on how they continue unfolding in time and what that person's subjective symbology is to them. However, our dreams can't be that far off of each others. We all have similar experiences. Our impressions must be nurtured at least partly as a collective. So then, are our dreams spun in the events of our daily lives or are our daily lives the result of our dreams? Maybe they're both, which is why this exercise is worth while.
The question is: Can you think of 5 things you'd wish to have, see, do, or otherwise experience before you die?
It can be hard to isolate what we want without thinking about how this would realistically throw everything else in reality off. There's an episode of Simpsons where Homer goes back in time, but because of his choices, he ends up destroying the present. I forget what he does, but it creates a chain reaction that is catastrophic. Wishes don't come true all the time, because if they did, something else would break down. We've all heard the expression "it's too good to be true" but why should something be false just because it's good? If we all got our way, I'm sure things just wouldn't work. If you got the BMW you wanted, would the lack of steel and paint in the rest of the universe cause it to implode? I don't know. Nevermind that. However, I just wanted to make the point that we're held together both by our wishes and our failures, in mutual tension. Maybe our dreams are meant to set things back in a positive direction. Listen to your soul. What do you wish for?
I think it's something to think about regularly. We have immediate goals, but we also have long term goals and needs. I'd imagine my five wishes would be different again if I did this in five minutes, but as it is,
My five were:
(1)To not lose compassion. "The greatest gift that you can learn, is to love, and be loved in return"
(2)Tour Europe as a musician or journalist, or have some purpose that is also entertaining to me.
(3)See the buffalo come back, and roam the wild.
(4)See an end to this prejudicial generalized anomousity between different religions and ethnicities BS.
(5)See a comprehensive program to deal with toxic waste disposal safely implemented (or in other words, to NOT see the plan to strap it to rockets and launch it into outter space) and develop an energy resource besides fossil fuels that can allow mass transportation to function affordably.
posted by sirbarrett at 3:00 p.m.
10 Comments:
I'd like to be able to physically get out of the house, not be lame, and experience, say, a few hours each day with no pain - even a half hour a day, I'd settle for.
Those three would do it for me!
U haave a remarkable writing style. Very impressive indeed!
I am truly flattered for your kind and gracious words, sirbarrett!
My five, for the moment, are listed on my blog, but perhaps subject to change at any given moment.
To me, dreams mirror our mind, body and soul, and can be quite revealing, like a disrobing. I write down my dreams as often as possible.
Have a good day!
Im glad to be back..long time I have not heard your news...
Allow me to check the post and get back to you
Seeing an end to religous/ethnic hatred would be high on my list too.
So many of us are already "there" - feeling no hatred for someone just because their beliefs don't match ours. If the world as a whole could get to the point where "difference" does not equal "someone to hate," or better yet, constitutes something to appreciate, it would be a great thing.
oh yay! i want to try this now...thank you. btw....i am so utterly impressed with your compassion. xo
great post. i love the topic. i have never seen the movie Adaptation but now you've made me put in on my list of films to see. have you ever read "the alchemist" it is about finding our paths, i'm sure you've heard of it and if not i think you would like it.
i don't look to closely on my dreams. they tend to be alot like my reality.
i will definitely think of these 5 things, meanwhile i really admire the ones you have selected.
you are a great mind :)
Paul -what you wish is something I would wish for you also. I think you're right that we're not far off from being jerks about skin colour or praying style, it's just that it's easy for anyone to fall back into habits of thinking, and presumptions about what they don't know.
blackempress -Your style kicks too! Mi casa es su casa. Gracias.
barbarafromcalifornia -I like your diagnosis of dreams. Dreams are like the mind playing itself out again backwards, reversed like a mirror, like you said, chasmas. They scare me sometimes, especially when I do things I never should do. I guess they're a warning in that way.
nasra -unfortunately too busy and things are moving too fast for 'news'. Maybe you can hear about history? Anyway, YES, come back!
trust no one -seriously. I was/am always a bit of a thorn in teacher's side, because I ask lots of questions when I'm not sure I really get the point, but then I respect teachers more because they let me ask, and the questions get bigger when they turned them back around. I admire that you can be a guide to children travelling towards the future. Aren't the changes over generations exciting?
Mitz -thanxxo, wish wish away!
Lorena -yes, see it! I liked the alchemist, especially the surprising ending which made me check again whether it was the last page, and all the adventure lessons throughout. It is a great buildungsroman. Ever since, I've felt less alone or less lost considering that there are certain things the universe wants you to experience. There are distinct paths that all lead places. I'm so tired right now I could fall asleep in my dreams, and my dreams dreams, so maybe I'll just do that. How many alarm clocks do you think I'll have to set?
hey that reminds me of Waking Life. i'm sure you've seen that film, no? with the light switch used as a way to see if you are dreaming...:)
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