A Sensible Dream

It is not that I will often have sensible dreams. My dreams have been all over the place from being strange to crazy to unexplainable and scary or silly, and a lot more. They come in many flavors of the unusual. That day when I woke up in the middle of the night, I knew it was another of those unusual dreams. But there are times when they, in spite of their unusual theme, don't appear impossible, just ignoring them is not easy. This was one of those; and I remembered only talking to someone whose face or appearance was quickly dissolved from my mind, maybe I had rubbed my eyes too hard. All I remember was someone preaching me and the other thing I could recollect was that the lesson was important, I needed it. Annoyed at not remembering any part I was thinking hard but never realized when I drifted back to sleep. And a few minutes into sleep again I was comforted that the voice had returned.

Find the right teacher, the voice was telling me. Someone who is not just a preacher but a role model in real sense, the voice continued. Go to the mountain road and walk for around a kilometer on the dirt road. Travelers before you would have left the footprints to guide you, and you will see the tree. That is where the teacher will be found; the real one. I was as confused as some of you might be at reading this. But then the reason I love the dreams( in spite of their being unusual)next moment I was on the dirt road, following clearly obvious footprints, like one sees on the mountain passes in India or Nepal. The voice still guiding me and keeping me alert.

After a walk that was uneventful and comforting, I found myself in a beautiful clearing. The mountains seemed to have pushed themselves out to make room. The grass on the ground had decided to grow just enough to become a neat, furry green carpet under the feet. And there, in the middle of all that, stood the majestic tree. Big, tall, grand and imposing in a very subtle way. May be it was an oak. But the type didn't matter, what mattered was that the tree was there, standing tall like the king of everything around it.

I was here to meet a teacher near the tree, but one glance and I knew that the tree was the teacher. And the voice ratified. I looked at the tree and I knew that the learning has started.

Do I know you? I thought. We share the most profound relation in the world. The tree conveyed. You need oxygen to live and I need Carbon dioxide. You exhale Carbon dioxide and I produce oxygen. So we complete each other. We are not just related but we are complementary to each other. We represent the best example of interdependence. We together make the world. Now that you know we are one I can tell you a few more things about me that may help.

Every year in winter, the master asks me to give away my fruits, my flowers even my leaves. And I surrender all that to master’s command without any doubt, any question, a prejudice or any regret. And every spring master makes me whole again; new with new leaves, New flowers, New fruits and a new life. The faith during complete surrender makes it all worthwhile. I know what the tree meant; my lack of faith had made me cry while giving away anything I like. I ask, doubt, analyses, question and disobey in the name of logic or common sense. Since my surrender in fall is reluctant so my crowning in spring is deficient. So I continue a life of monotony and mediocrity and complaining that the master has been unfair.

Now you know what I mean the tree smiled. Another thing, I don't worry about my seeds and my fruits. I don't worry how the seeds will germinate and become trees like me. I trust the divine law of life that made me what I am will help the seeds germinate, the saplings gain ground and strength and knowledge to get the needed minerals from soil. The divine law is not to be taught, just to be lived. And that is coded in the very being of the seed. You call it the DNA.

But aren't seeds weak? I doubted. Yes they are weak indeed, and I have the responsibly to help them overcome and protect them as long as I can, but I don't fret about what size trees they will grow into. All I do is give the care seeds need to grow the roots and settle in the ground rest all is their zeal and their place in the master plan of the heavenly. I know what you mean teacher but I don't think I can just do my duty and let go. I have read that even as a child to be unattached to the results but I could never do that. No you cannot, certainly not your current mind set. That is a reason I spoke about surrender during fall before I started talking about the seeds. The tree chucked again.

And then all of a sudden birds stared chirping, the music playing, and the voice of the choir singers started filing my ears. The tree, the grass, the mountains all started to fade away. My morning alarm was ringing.

I remember the dream, weird, but worth remembering. Not sure if this will ever continue but I want to meet the teacher again, maybe I also walk to the lake and see if one of the trees on the banks can tell me more. Who knows, the spring is coming, the winter going away so a miracle might be waiting for me. My promise to you is if I hear more from the teacher in Dream or while awake, I will share. Also I would like to know the way to return from sacred tree teacher’s abode, would you not want to know that?