“A Night’s Dream”
There are times much like tonight that the quietness of the night invites me into its deep undisturbed serenity. It evokes in me a certain degree of peacefulness that can only be felt at times when the whole world is sleeping calmly, undisturbed. (Although I know this is not true I like to imagine it being so.) It feels as though the only three things awake in the whole universe are myself, the moon and the stars.
I close my eyes and take a deep, long breath; and in the process of doing so I realize I can hear the boats down by the sea, swaying softly on their salty, uncharted waters. It fascinates me that I didn’t hear them at first. That is when I come to the realization that perhaps it is not just myself, the moon and the stars after all, that I didn’t consider the millions of fish very much awake and swimming in their nights deep-sea. I giggle to myself as I visualize their hidden, secret world and giggle further still when I find myself wishing to be able to watch the very spectacle of it all.
I imagine myself perched on a swaying boat, moving freely side to side with the ever-changing oceans tides. I picture it rocking me slowly to sleep, with the stars twinkling high above my head and the moon, as it always has, lighting my way. I give into temptation and drift softly, sweetly and silently into the nights embrace and quickly yet quietly drift into the most wonderful night’s sleep, full of beautiful dreams of the most stunning, exotic fishing swimming all around me, delicately blanketing me as they allow me to explore every aspect of their world. They allow me to swim side by side with them as if I am a part of their pack.
I graciously smile at them as I find my heart suddenly over filled with joy. Yet, realizing they do not understand this gesture, I find myself giggling once again. I see everything there is to see in this underwater world, in MY underwater world, from minnows to dolphins, from starfish to sea horses… the beauty of the sea surrounds my every move and I feel light, elated, at peace. I am not scared when I see the larger portions their world has to offer because so far this underwater world has been nothing but gentle to me.
They move with such freedom, such dignity and determination. I am so consumed with every aspect of their world that I find myself moving with this same freedom. It is right when I find myself wishing to be a part of this world, I realize it is time to say goodbye. It is also right then that I hear a voice; I recognize this voice, for I have heard it many times before, on many different occasions. It is my conscience speaking to me; it is telling me that I can and should take this lesson home with me that I too can make this peace an essential quality in my own life, that it is not too late to move with this same freedom, dignity and determination that was displayed before me tonight.
I nod my head in understanding and slip slowly back into reality. When I wake I find myself smiling. I find a renewed sense of peace all around me. I vow to take these lessons with me wherever I journey and promise to remember when feeling lost to always remember the very lessons I learned that very night the whole world was lost in their peaceful sleep.
That very night my three friends the moon, the stars and sea in fact became a part of me.
-Johanna M. Dunn
5/5/2010
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