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A brief philosophical discussion of dreams. With Disney songs.
Hey, I have an appropriate icon. Sweet.
So, as per usual, I had a special dream last night (which involved launching fighter planes off a highway, in case you were wondering). And that got me thinking of Disney songs, naturally. Specifically, "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes". So, how did dreams ever become associated with wishes? Because I'm pretty sure that most people don't have dreams where they buy a new house or their interview goes really well or they get into the school they really wanted or they won a million dollars in the lottery. "Mundane" stuff like that is what people actively wish for, but how often does one actually dream about it? We use words like hopes and dreams synonymously, but why? Because taken literally, the man/woman of your dreams is more likely to turn into a purple giraffe and open a Norwegian spelunking shop (and maybe try to eat your brains) than make mad passionate love to you*. Going by personal experience, the only time I have even remotely dreamed of a real life event with any consistency is when I am afraid of sleeping through my alarm, and have that dream where I'm late for my exam/work/whatever and wake up every 5 minutes to check the clock. In such dreams I certainly do not lose my heartache. Also going by personal experience, apparently my heart's desires include:
1. Making pancakes and melting the spatula
2. Learning to drive stick so I can escape from zombies
3. Viewing the newest Harry Potter/Discworld/Pirates of the Caribbean before it comes out
4. Becoming a Jedi and carrying out covert ops in a shopping mall
5. Having Brad Pitt as my roommate
6. Playing soccer with Helo
7. Learning to fly
(Going by other people's dreams, I am also a ninja who gets towed around on a skateboard by a golf cart, and Jesus is a Bothan Spy**.)
Which are all kind of awesome, now that I think about it. But, for the most part, fairly impossible. So, no matter how hard I keep believing, it is unlikely that the dream that I wish will come true. How depressing is that?
Nightmares, on the other hand, can be freakishly accurate. I, for example, do not want to be kidnapped, assassinated by a hitman when I come off the 202 bypass, have my house invaded by strangers, or be turned into a malfunctioning robot under observation by a team of scientists because my limbs won't operate together***. And nobody wants to go to class naked or fall a really long way.
So, in conclusion, our nightmares are far more likely to happen than any of our dreams, which we equate semantically with successful mortgages and other essential but probably boring stuff, while hopes are conversely equated with awesome but improbable events. No wonder people have existential angst.
* In dreams, this seems to be the province of someone you'd probably never date and who would almost certainly make things incredibly awkward.
** This totally sounds like a country song.
*** Courtesy of my pneumonia meds. Ok, so maybe this isn't so likely.
I'd go see if the filing drawer is cleaned out so I can get back to work, but whaddaya know, it's lunchtime! I love 1.5 hour breaks followed by food!
So, as per usual, I had a special dream last night (which involved launching fighter planes off a highway, in case you were wondering). And that got me thinking of Disney songs, naturally. Specifically, "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes". So, how did dreams ever become associated with wishes? Because I'm pretty sure that most people don't have dreams where they buy a new house or their interview goes really well or they get into the school they really wanted or they won a million dollars in the lottery. "Mundane" stuff like that is what people actively wish for, but how often does one actually dream about it? We use words like hopes and dreams synonymously, but why? Because taken literally, the man/woman of your dreams is more likely to turn into a purple giraffe and open a Norwegian spelunking shop (and maybe try to eat your brains) than make mad passionate love to you*. Going by personal experience, the only time I have even remotely dreamed of a real life event with any consistency is when I am afraid of sleeping through my alarm, and have that dream where I'm late for my exam/work/whatever and wake up every 5 minutes to check the clock. In such dreams I certainly do not lose my heartache. Also going by personal experience, apparently my heart's desires include:
1. Making pancakes and melting the spatula
2. Learning to drive stick so I can escape from zombies
3. Viewing the newest Harry Potter/Discworld/Pirates of the Caribbean before it comes out
4. Becoming a Jedi and carrying out covert ops in a shopping mall
5. Having Brad Pitt as my roommate
6. Playing soccer with Helo
7. Learning to fly
(Going by other people's dreams, I am also a ninja who gets towed around on a skateboard by a golf cart, and Jesus is a Bothan Spy**.)
Which are all kind of awesome, now that I think about it. But, for the most part, fairly impossible. So, no matter how hard I keep believing, it is unlikely that the dream that I wish will come true. How depressing is that?
Nightmares, on the other hand, can be freakishly accurate. I, for example, do not want to be kidnapped, assassinated by a hitman when I come off the 202 bypass, have my house invaded by strangers, or be turned into a malfunctioning robot under observation by a team of scientists because my limbs won't operate together***. And nobody wants to go to class naked or fall a really long way.
So, in conclusion, our nightmares are far more likely to happen than any of our dreams, which we equate semantically with successful mortgages and other essential but probably boring stuff, while hopes are conversely equated with awesome but improbable events. No wonder people have existential angst.
* In dreams, this seems to be the province of someone you'd probably never date and who would almost certainly make things incredibly awkward.
** This totally sounds like a country song.
*** Courtesy of my pneumonia meds. Ok, so maybe this isn't so likely.
I'd go see if the filing drawer is cleaned out so I can get back to work, but whaddaya know, it's lunchtime! I love 1.5 hour breaks followed by food!
no subject
But you are correct, dreams != wishes. Or else I'm wishing that Jesus is disguised as a stormtrooper, trying to sabatoge the Empire.
no subject
Except for the flying, of course, but I suspect I really want to fly because I keep having dreams about it, not the other way around.
Is it bad that I've written the chorus for a country song about Jesus and Star Wars?
no subject
Dude, are we going to Cosi or not? Your answer was unsatisfactory.
Too late!
I can't be on my own
it's not like bulls-eyeing womprats
in my T-16 back home
I know he can give the answers
to end all my strife
cuz Jesus is the Bothan spy
in the Rebellion of my life
Re: Too late!
Re: Too late!
So please help me Jesus
Sometimes I come up short
my torpedos cannot find
Satan's thermal exhaust port
I figure if I'm able to convert at least one Star Wars geek, maybe I won't go to hell :)
Re: Too late!
...
I'm sorry, I am obviously sick and deranged.
Re: Too late!
I'm not sure about the mechanics of writing Christiany country songs. Is it ok to have suggestive lyrics as long as they're about Satan, or does that just make it worse?
no subject
My heart's desires don't include an interview going really well or my mortgage being successful, even though those may be nice. Those, I think, are a little too mundane. I don't know, I guess I tend to have down-to-earth dreams, so a lot of the time, they do kind of reflect what I actually want. Of course, I also often sit up in bed after a dream and think, "What the hell was THAT about?"
no subject
So, yeah.