As a child, on a hot summer day, do you remember fantasizing with friends about wondrous things you wished would come true? I do. Having the stars in our eyes polished by reading mystery and adventure stories, we often dreamed about finding buried treasure. Today’s young girls sometimes dream of becoming the next Taylor Swift or star athlete. However, those were and are daydreams, but what about dreams during sleep? What if those dreams came true? As an adult, I’m not so sure that would be beneficial. Since taking Magnesium for night leg cramps, my dream life has escalated into vivid nonsense.
Recently, I had a dream in which a friend, who is not young and plays in a church worship band, won a placement to study opera in Ireland. No kidding. Opera. And it could have been anywhere, like the Juilliard School in New York, or a prestigious school in London, Vienna or Paris, but my active sleep brain sent him to Ireland. I know he is a musician, but an opera singer? Visions of watching him in a class of twenty-somethings practicing vocal exercises and performing pages of unintelligible words in Italian make me giggle. Where does this stuff come from?
As I thought about the hilarity of this situation, I wondered, if dreams came true, where would one his age begin his opera singing career? Maybe Ireland, if I were to trust my dream. Assuming it would take a few years of training before he was ready to launch into the performance field, how would a newly minted septuagenarian opera singer get his big break (and not a hip or a leg)? Should he succeed, would they allow him time for naps on busy concert tours? And where would his wife fit into this picture? What if she doesn’t even like opera? I have many questions for my subconscious!
Long ago, I learned that I cannot watch sci-fi movies in the evening without having crazy, disjointed, and sometimes disturbing dreams as a result. Since I’m unlikely to watch a movie any other time, that knocks out that genre for me, much to my husband’s displeasure. If those dreams came true, who knows what planet I would now inhabit, or what distressing situations I would encounter? Would I be able to take my family with me, or would I be exiled alone to the world of aliens and superheroes, minus the superheroes? Life on Earth has enough disturbing moments for me without creating a new world and fabricating more. Maybe sci-fi writers have an active dream life, too!
Pondering the idea of dreams, I came across this quote online: “I only have one wish in life… For all my dreams to come true.” Lacking a qualifier as to what type of dreams, my first thought was, Really? Are you sure? If mine came true, blitzing around the universe or installing friends in unsuitable professions might be regrettable. Let me rephrase that thought: it would be regrettable, especially for my potentially former friends. In addition, transforming all those recurring dreams we’ve ever experienced, which often include stressful situations, into reality would be insanity.
Have you ever heard the expression, “Be careful what you wish for”? That might be excellent advice when wishing your dreams would come true.
Until next time,
Brenda Erb Roberts
Thank you for sharing your time with me.
For another chuckle, check out my previous Lighter Side story, “I Missed My Calling!”
Looking Back: Last year, I poked fun at myself in this Lighter Side article, “Typos, Autocorrect, and Crazy Text Messages.” The situation has not improved!
On a more serious note, if you’re looking for some food for thought, here is my most recent Inspirational reflection, “Wisdom Gleaned from a Skinny-Legged Creature.”