Daydreaming

DAYDREAMING

“In my study . . . A different conception
of mind evolved: one that lets things
happen as well as makes things happen . . .
mind as functioning along one unbroken
conscious-unconscious continuum.”
    ---Harold Rugg, in “Imagination”

Some call it a waste of time---
that drifting of the mind . . .
the materialist’s monster
hiding under the bed,
the empty void that floats just
out of reach of the infinite arm
of science and technology.
Perhaps, they think
(read compute) it’s part of
the quantum world, full of
uncertainty and chaos . . .
or a brazen display of the self---
that mythological bugaboo that plagues
the abundance of facts and figures
pouring out of quantum computers,
or simply coming forth from
the squishy matter in our heads.
Oh yes, they say, it’s those electrical
firings and chemical reactions,
those overworked neurons 
that cause us to act human
at the most inopportune times . . .

Like when I wonder if the world
would look different in a foreign
language, or what’s it like to live
in the top of a very tall tree. I’m not
alone---if we dare consider other souls:
The poet James Wright daydreamed
while lying in a hammock in Minnesota;
his reflections---the rebirth of his career.
No doubt Paris fantasized a lot about
Helen before boarding a ship for Troy---
two one-way tickets in his hot, little hand.
Dr. King had a whopper of a vision
that compelled him to a Birmingham jail,
a history-defining speech in D.C., and
finally a martyr’s death in Memphis---
all because the synapses fired, they say,
in a certain order, and the chemicals
flowed in the right (or perhaps, bigoted
brains might assert---wrong) channels.
Some go as far as saying these things
never happened . . . our memories are
nothing more than circuits misbehaving.

Call it what you will . . . there’s no end
to such extreme, unexamined dreaming.

Reviews

[John Alexander McFadyen]

I have to say you caught me on the hop with this one as it made me stop and really think. Being a daydreamer since childhood I often use it as neutral gear to simply let my mind idle. At times there is no real organised or focussed thought at all. Simply a state of being and feeling. this is emphasised when sun bathing and I go into a stupor. I have always envied the contemplators and planners and schemers and thought daydreaming a less active sport lol!

[kentuck14]

John,
One of my favorite times (as an oldster) is at that horizon between wakefulness and sleeping during my nap-time. Some times a sudden "flash" awakens me to an idea or thought that might lead to writing a poem, or an answer to an ongoing problem. I feel it's a very important "state of being." Thanks for your comments.
Tom

[Natalie]

This is incredibly impactful! I love when you talk about "electrical firings." It all beautifully explains both perspectives on daydreaming even while spoken in favor. Great job!

[kentuck14]

Natalie,
Thanks for coming by and commenting. It is indeed true that our brains produce "electrical firings", but that is not all that is going on. There is that old term, "the ghost in the machine" that truly makes us human.
Tom

[Lydia Shutter]

That space between sleep and wakefulness....when we sort of dream, but sort of just think of new ideas. It is a special place where many inventions are borne. Daydreaming....I know I do it and it is wonderful. I liked the references to MLK and to the poet. Good write. Lydi**

[kentuck14]

thanks Lydi, glad you enjoyed it.
T.