Connections

by Newnameelizabeth

Thinking about this PBS show on dreaming has lead me to explore the roll of our subconscious. One of the interviewees said that dreams aren’t about external realities, they’re about the fundamental you. I think stories also tap into our fundamental selves and how we relate to things that captivate us without the distractions of “reality”. Another interviewee said that since we are impacted by our dreams during times of consciousness, then they are real.

I don’t think it’s about control, because we can’t control our dreams, but about the bonds we have with things beyond our control. This influence is very raw and deep, and in consciousness, the other thing can be physically removed from us, causing a dissonance with the closeness of our bond to it. Like Christopher Reeve always being able bodied in his dreams after his accident. He was intensely bonded to a body that no longer was. The bond was real, but that body no longer existed. Material realists would say that Reeve needed to move on and accept his new body. Besides being harsh, I think it denies the reality of being human. We are taught that it is healthy to sever our connections to people that are no longer with us. But if the connection is a fundamental part of us, then I am not sure it is even possible to sever it. The materialist has a problem with invisible connections anyway.

I also don’t know how voluntary our connections are. And what if the other person doesn’t have the same connection to you? Perhaps mutual connections are just of a different nature than one way connections. Perhaps it is futile to try to change your own, as well as another person’s connections. If one is peaceful about the state of the connections, then no problem. But if there is a problem, then distraction or re-education is probably necessary. Redirection would be distraction, but I don’t think it is a severing. Once a person loves fried chicken, I think they will always love fried chicken, even if they make other choices and choose not to daydream about it. But if they smell it, or remember it, that buried love makes itself immediately known with instant recall. I think it is impossible to stop loving fried chicken, but one can choose not to think about it or eat it. One can’t choose their immediate reaction to it, however. I suppose dieters or fasters have to accept their loves and connections, and not deny them. But not dwell on the ones they don’t think are beneficial.

What if one isn’t that aware of the healthy connections he has, or should have? “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Apparently one can choose to delight in someone, and be given new desires. If someone cultivates healthier desires, I think it is interesting to know his previous desires. That seems more him, somehow. If he had to change them, then it is saying he was defective the way he was. I want to say, just let us eat cake.

The person who has successfully lost weight will sometimes say they were a skinny person trapped in a fat body. Maybe so. The struggle they have determined to win still takes its toll on them, it seems, however. No pain, no gain, I suppose.