Dream Journey

Thrust into a world that is limited only by what is in your mind. A place that allows the imagination to run wild, unconsciously. We can get to a region we never knew that even existed, let alone was actually inside our heads. Dreams have more power than one would think, and they can be the key to unlocking the deepest parts of your subconsciousness. The difficult task you need only to do is to remember.

I found myself in a landscape that seems to be a rocky shoreline along some mountains. There's a shallow body of water in front of me that reaches out in the distance. The water is about a foot deep, and maybe half of this landscape is water, the rest being some uneven spots of boulders where one could step across. Looking through the spots that are flooded, you see that its all connected underneath and looks like a coral reef that resembles rocks and earth, sort of like tide pools. Its a gloomy day, where everything just seems grey, but it looks somehow beautiful to me with the surrounding mountains. Despite the shallowness of the water, you get a small sense of a hidden danger below the surface, something that is just waiting for you to make a mistake. I look out to see past the water and I can clearly see an isolated hill in the distance, and nearby it is the ending of the crossing over the water. Something in me is telling me that the hill is where I need to go.

Suddenly, I realize that I am not alone. There is a man there with me, who tells me that I need to stay there and its too dangerous to go. I can tell that he cares about me and only wants for me to be safe. I want to listen to him, his caution is reasonable, but I can't stay. I feel a calling that I just can't ignore, and its telling me that I need to cross to the other side. I am not afraid, but in truth, I am actually excited. Its the kind of feeling when you get to go somewhere you've always wanted to go. So I take my first leap onto this strange pathway, into unknown territory, and I leave him behind.

To me, there is no reason for fear. I only feel the exhilaration of discovering something new. I walk and jump along the rocky patches and finally make it to the hill. The entire process was no problem for me, and I never once felt the danger that was so apparent to my past companion. The hill reminds me of a giant ant hill, looking like some brownish-orange mound. Looking up at it though, I can see that it is covered in many sleeping snakes along the ledges in random places. I feel the need to get to the top, but I also know that I need to somehow avoid the snakes.

Crossing the water was an easy task for me, but climbing this hill proved to be very complicated. I try with each step to find the proper footing, while also determined not to disturb the snakes. I am not afraid of them either, but I know they mean certain trouble if my path tries to cross one. I am trying so many different ways, and trying to think of a variety of solutions to get to the peak, but it seems that each time I find a new clear path, there is once again a snake in my way. This task frustrates me, and I become so confused as to why it seems impossible for me to reach the top.

Just when I am about to give up, I hear voices below and away from the hill. I look from my spot halfway up the hill, and I am able to see a group of people near the land around the hill and well past where the water had ended. I thought it strange how I wasn't able to see them when I made it to their side of the landscape. It seems like I was only able to find them because of my vantage point on the hill. They feel familiar to me, and I seem to recognize them. I think they're my family, so I go to them, sliding easily down the hill with no problems. I join their group, and enjoy their company immensely. I go where they go, and they never discourage me to wander or seek new places, in fact they actually support me in the new experiences. All the while I am with them, I am taking pictures of everything. In those moments, I feel home, comfort, and somewhere I belong. It feels like something that I never want to forget, and I realize then that my path was to them. Even though it wasn't a clear direction, it was a worthwhile journey that I know I will want to continue to do in the future.