Connecting Dreams
01 April 2012 | Great Exuma Island, Bahamas
Imelda
Great Exuma Island, Bahamas, 1 April 2012
At home we have something up on our wall: Brendan's Dream Chart. It lists two types of dreams (divided by a vertical line down the middle of the A4 page): "REALLY GREAT DREAMS I HAVE ALREADY HAD" and "THE GREAT DREAMS I AM PLANNING TO HAVE!"
Brendan is a great believer in 'active dream management'. He is also very keen on Connecting Dreams: where a dream storyline unfolds in several installments, over the course of several nights (like a TV serial!)
It was bliss to arrive on Queen's Ransom at last and "crash out" for a while in my cabin. As I started slipping into the space between dreams and daytime coherence, Brendan climbed in and snuggled up close.
"What are you dreaming?! What are you seeing?!" asks the little dream wizard in a loud stage whisper. I tell him that I am a bee in my cell in a bee hive. "Great! Have you been out pollinating anything yet?!" The 8 year old interrogator breathes down my neck. "No, not yet, that is what I might do next..."
"How many bees are there in the hive? About 7 million?!"
"Less, I think... but still many... thousands...."
"Not to worry Mummy! This is just one dream, in a series of dreams... the story continues tomorrow and tomorrow you will get to pollinate!" It is good to know, isn't it?!
We just walked on the beach here on Great Exuma Island. There is a gibbous Moon overhead and stratus clouds stacked in the sky. Stars were starting to appear one by one. Eliott said: "Please teach me more about the stars and the names of star constellations, Mum!" I show him Little Bear (Ursa Minor) and how it points down to Polaris, the Pole Star. "I think little bear looks like a kite!" says Elliott happily. From now on the plan is to teach him one star constellation a day.
On the plane Ulric gave me an article from the Financial Times about Santa Fe (the next leg of my journey!) Apparently one of the great features in traditional adobe houses is the corner 'beehive fireplace'!
Brendan comes to kiss me goodnight. He says: "Remember, your dream will continue tomorrow!" And yes, in many ways all these sailing trips have been like CONNECTING DREAMS (and an occasional nightmare too!)
By Imelda Almqvist