Life is But a Dream

Dear Reader,

Have you ever seen a sight so beautiful that it feels like you are in a dream? I felt passionately about my dreams as a kid. In fact, when I was in late elementary school/ early middle school, I even took to keeping a dream journal (where I basically outlined the dreams I had before I forgot them). I was kind of obsessed with dreams and can still— honest to god— remember some of the dreams that I had when I was elementary-school age. At such an age, when I had dreams that were so moving or absorbing, I thought that they could manifest in real life.

In one dream, I remember being handed the most beautiful pendant necklace and then, as I awoke, I felt my hand grow lighter as my fingers grasped nothing more than empty air. Upon the realization that the pendant that I had conjured in my mind so vividly did not exist, I felt a profound sense of (totally unfounded) loss. I wanted to go back into the dream and recover the necklace. I tried and tried to will the pendant into existence to (obviously) no avail.

One year, we took a family trip to Disney World and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride sparked a new dream obsession (p.s. did you know the Disney ride inspired the film series — not the other way around — it’s been around since 1967!). The Pirates of the Caribbean ride is an indoor slow boat ride that takes passengers through a series of vignettes, featuring swashbuckling animatrons, who party, pillage, scrub the deck, and engage in other antics. Since 2006, Disney has also integrated the film cast into these scenes. For me, the most stunning part of this ride is where you pass through a room decorated to look like a night sky under the buzz of the nautical music in the background. The blues of the water and the glowing blue walls blend as one to showcase a larger-than-life pirate ship.

I became obsessed with this room filled with calm water, a navy-blue sky, and the imposing ship on display. I have had multiple dreams that embodied this feeling, if not recreated the image. I recount this story to you now, as I recently felt the wondrous feeling of the blue room, however, this time in real life.

On a short plane ride from Syracuse, New York to Boston, we were flying west to east around sunset. With the orange, yellow, and pink glows of light behind us, we were racing toward the deep blues, indigos ahead and the murky black waters below. The plane was free from conversation and the only sound was the roar of the engines. It was a smaller plane with only three rows, which meant that the glow from the port-hole windows were near to all passengers. Closer to touchdown, somehow, we were approaching the Boston Logan International airport from the east (despite coming from the west), which meant that the plane was speeding from the dark bay toward the glow of the city below (a speckling of orange, yellow, and white lights) that provided further contrast between civilization and the watery depths underneath us.

The way the blue from the sky mixed with the blue from the ocean was so magical to me. The undulations of the water gave the scene a sense of peaceful quiet despite the continued roar of heavy machinery. The plane tilted left and right affording us views of the ocean, the city, and then, the ocean once more. We were rocked as if in a visual lullaby, but who could want to sleep with such views?

I took out my camera, which was foolish, because truth be told, I knew my iPhone camera (which is a bit worse for wear to be honest) would not do the scene justice. However, even if I had the fanciest camera on the market, I’m not sure the lens would have been wide enough or rich enough to capture the atmosphere in all its magnificence. Because I’m stubborn, I took a number of sub-par photos and one short video anyway. Experiencing this scene brought me back to my dreams of the blue room from years past. While the airplane is novel to this reality, the blues of the sky and water and the immersive snow-globe effect, where the beholder sits square in the center of the action, is something that I have dreamt multiple times before.

Why am I telling you this, dear Reader? Because I went on a short, exciting trip to New York state for a fun opportunity, however, all that I want to talk about is the final few minutes of the journey before touching down back home. All in all, I want to convey to you that moments of wonder and “wow” do not have to be big ones. Finding myself in a space that I have dreamt about in one way or another is a mini “dream come to life” for me. If I am delighted now, childhood me who first became obsessed with the blue skies and waters below would have been in ecstasy.

If anything, this post is a reminder to look for and cherish the beauty in even the little things.

Love,

Raven