Three Word Wednesday - Sidewalk - 3/5/08

The words this week were rest, sidewalk, and twice. This is what came to mind:

I had a dream, a day dream, but it was every bit as vivid and detailed as any dream that has entered my sleep in the middle of the night. I had just laid down for a brief rest after a round of golf. I do enjoy those afternoon naps. No sooner had I closed my eyes than the dream began. I have had this particular dream twice before and recognized it immediately. Each time I have experienced this vision it has been a continuation of a previous dream, like the next chapter of a book. Each time I venture further into the illusion:



I am on a sidewalk. Initially it is a wide walkway in a forest which gradually gives way to beautiful flowering grasslands lining it on both sides on a beautiful summer day. As I walk along this paved pathway, it gradually becomes narrower. The terrain on both sides changes from the lush vegetation to a vast marshland and then an even more barren and lifeless desert topography. The bright sky became ominously overcast and the sun eclipsed by clouds. I was walking with a sense of purpose, towards what, I do not know. All I know is I felt the journey was not in the direction I would have consciously chosen and though I could not see the sidewalk ahead I did not sense being afraid.



That was the end of the first dream. I don't know if I was awakened from the dream or if that was all the first chapter contained. The second dream began as the first ended, with me power walking on down the pavement. As the path narrowed, there was another distinct change in the adjoining land. It dropped off to a deep chasm on both sides. I sensed the vastness of the nothingness but I did not stop or confirm. In the same way I know it is dark outside at night without looking out the window, I instinctively knew there was an abyss underneath me without having to see it. The overcast of the sky turned darker and a light haze was forming all around me. I could hear the wind but could not feel it. Again, a bookmark was placed at this point as I awoke.



The current dream begins with the unmistakable scent of the sea. I don't recall a pervasive sense of smell in previous dreams, rather a distinct absence of aroma. I realize in the first dream there was no sound. It appears that with each installment I obtain another sensory ability. I can now not only smell the ocean, I can hear the soothing rhythm of waves breaking. Just as with the expanse of nothing in the previous dream, I know I am surrounded by water and I can feel the mist of the ocean spray. I am not sure why I have no ability or desire to stop and look. I am normally a very inquisitive person, but I am driven by a force much stronger than my free will. It is also obvious that the track beneath me has once again narrowed considerably. I have to pay close attention to put one foot in front of the other to avoid stepping off the sidewalk. I found myself hoping I did not meet anyone coming the other way as there would not be room to pass. Perhaps my intuition told me that is exactly what would happen in a subsequent dream. As I awoke, I wondered where the path was taking me. Though I was very calm in my dream, I was very frightened and trembling when I returned to this world. I also felt a salty wetness on my face. It was not salty tears or sweat, it appeared to be sea mist. It was also on my arms and legs.