Getting out of bed this morning seemed irresponsible. There was no scenario I could envision, no action I could take, no variation from my existing condition that didn’t make things worse.

I was squarely situated in a perfectly comfortable, perfect temperature bed, with my arms neatly crossed on my chest, in a tranquil state of morning euphoria as I groggily contemplated my situation and potential next moves. I allowed myself the luxury of inaction and statue-like stillness as I reviewed the only recently exited, subconsciously-manifested imagery mixed with real world bliss which brought me to this place of sublime but threatened peace.

Only moments ago, I was deeply in sleep. The kind of sleep that makes dreams as realistic as real life. I was bathed in ultra-pure white light. It came from everywhere, with no discernible source. You could feel it. Everything was symmetrical in this world, and my location was always central. There were perfectly built, stainless steel boxes symmetrical littered around the bright landscape. Boxes always within reach and accessible without effort if I so wished. I believe these were provided for any thoughts or situations I might have that proved “cumbersome” to my blissful state. The masterfully-built boxes were of varied sizes, so I could quickly lockup, any sized problems and file them neatly somewhere for later consideration...or not.

I believe my mind had manifest: monkey-brain heaven.

The white symmetry box landscape was augmented with a long, white beach, calm seas, and a flawless sky of white that matched everything else. This scene was accessed after walking through a small section of urban decay that was only moderately troubling and therefore left “unboxed”. We were looking for a driveway we heard about; past the decay that led to a tower a man was renovating. He was to be available for photos and questions on this particular day. I say “we” because I was not alone. There was another presence; but i can’t say exactly what...I just wasn’t “alone”.

The tall tower was immediately visible, but as we got closer, we could see that it was surrounded by a chain link construction style fence with a gate. As we approached, the man who was tall, dressed in dark clothes and obviously the person in charge, opened the gate. Photographers frantically snapped photos and all manner of automated photography robots and tools were utilized to get the ultimate time lapse and unique angle shots of the masterpiece of brown stone that rose high above the beach. It was quite a spectacular scene.

Although the tower was impressive, it was obviously not complete. Chunks of dark concrete, pieces of stone and debris littered the area below the tower and were visible on any less than vertical areas of the structure itself. It was amazing workmanship, but still very squarely in process.

As the photographers began to wander away, satisfied that they had captured the much-hyped unveiling adequately enough to get “likes” and “clicks”: the man dressed in dark clothing asked me if I wanted to see something “pretty neat”. I said that I did, and with that, he pushed an industrial looking button at the end of a stout electrical line that led to the tower structure beyond. Immediately, the sounds of winches could be heard.

Turns out, the tower wasn’t really as it appeared at all. Instead, the tower was simply cloth tapestries painted in a way that made them look like a stone tower under construction. When the first section started to move, you could see the perfect stone structure framework behind. And as the tapestry rose, it pulled and lifted beneath it large beautiful sections of stained glass, that geometrically snapped into one long sheet, as the winches pulled it up and into the stone framework.

I commented to the Architect/Builder that my experience with stained glass gave me an appreciation for its flexibility; but that i had no idea it could be almost liquid in nature if done masterfully. He looked down at me, smiled and looked back at the tower.

I could hear winch after winch coming to life in succession: each pulling up a section of trompe l’oeil fabric attached to foldable stained glass. Each one more beautiful than the last. Each separated by stone and enough time to facilitate individual appreciation of each. The dark stone and stained glass tower was amazing standing alone on the white-lit beach, white ocean and white sky. As you changed perspective, seeing all the way through the tower meant the moving stain glass never interacted with each other in the same way twice. It was never, and could never be; only one thing.

So i laid there this morning and contemplated the stone tower on the beach, stainless steel boxes and white symmetrical worlds. And as i did, Morgan opened the window curtains, and i could see that the snow had begun to fall. The white sky was producing white snow that was turning the ground white, cold and beautiful. As it did, there i laid perfectly warm, comfortable and safe , symmetrically in my bed. How could anything improve on that?

Authors note:

Occasionally I’ll feel the need to jot down my dreams before I forget them. This is due to Neil Young and his recommendations in regard to the creative process. Thanks Neil. Hope you enjoy it.