Y LOS SUENOS, SUENOS SON:
An Unpleasant New Variation on the Dream in Which the Teacher Loses Control of Class
Last night I dreamt that a gaggle of frat boys from the Brotherhood purpose unit at college came to my yoga class, which was being held out of doors in the winter in the middle of a snowstorm.* I kept my composure. For awhile. We were nearly through the standing poses when they all started yelling and making up their own movements and trying to humiliate me.** The other students stopped listening to me and started staring and them and waited to see what would happen. It escalated to the point where I flipped the bad men the bird and yelled, "Fuck off, frat boys!" Of course some Very Important Teacher saw all of this, and shook their head in disappointment. THAT's when I was humiliated.
Now I understand, implicitly, why The Ayurvedics say it's best to go to bed at 10PM and awaken at 5AM or 6AM -- after which one's dreams can become very, very intense.*** Unfortunately I'm still on the 11 to 7 system.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Possibly inspired by last night's snowstorm
**Something very similar to this happened in the dining hall during my senior year at college -- ie, I was the focus of a hazing stunt -- after I wrote something in the paper that the Greeks didn't like. It blew up to the point where 1) I feared for my safety; 2) There was a campus-wide town hall meeting to diffuse the tension; and 3) Some of the worst offenders were taken to "court." Ah, college.
***This of course came after the dream in which I broke down in front of a beloved old editor (who was also unceremoniously let go) and cried and cried and cried about my lost journalism / bookwriting career (and consequent income). When I awakened I felt much, much lighter -- and not just because it had snowed.****
****Snow and cold make a Pitta Girl very, very happy indeed.
That is a scary dream, whatwith horny frat retards and all.
ReplyDeleteI suggest a Smith & Wesson Ladysmith in .38 special to help make you feel more protected in your travels, and under your pillow for sounder sleep.
It's a dangerous world, don't leave home un-protected.
Oh, here is a link to the Ladysmith
ReplyDeletehttp://www.impactguns.com/store/SS-26310.html
The Spanish version is far more exquisite....
ReplyDeleteFROM 'LIFE IS A DREAM'
by: Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681)
WE live, while we see the sun,
Where life and dreams are as one;
And living has taught me this,
Man dreams the life that is his,
Until his living is done.
The king dreams he is king, and he lives
In the deceit of a king,
Commanding and governing;
And all the praise he receives
Is written in wind, and leaves
A little dust on the way
When death ends all with a breath.
Where then is the gain of the throne,
That shall perish and not be known
In the other dream that is death?
Dreams the rich man of riches and fears,
The fears that his riches breed;
The poor man dreams of his need,
And all his sorrows and tears;
Dreams he that prospers with years,
Dreams he that feigns and foregoes,
Dreams he that rails on his foes;
And in all the world, I see,
Man dreams whatever he be,
And his own dream no man knows.
And I too dream and behold,
I dream I am bound with chains,
And I dreamed that these present pains
Were fortunate ways of old.
What is life? a tale that is told;
What is life? a frenzy extreme,
A shadow of things that seem;
And the greatest good is but small,
That all life is a dream to all,
And that dreams themselves are a dream.
------------------
This English translation by Arthur Symons of Calderón's "From 'Life is a Dream'" is reprinted from Hispanic Anthology: Poems Translated from the Spanish by English and North American Poets. Ed. Thomas Walsh. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1920.