Holidailies: If only in my dreams

"I'm dreaming tonight..."

Where does your Muse hit you? Never when it's convenient and you are sitting in front of the blank screen, twitching your fingers and waiting for the words to come pouring out just as you envisioned them in your head, just as you can hear them in your fingertips? Sometimes inspiration comes in the middle of supper, when the kids are screaming for more and the pets are scavenging under the tables for uninspired dinner scraps. And sometimes, inspiration come to us like this and we can only get carried along by how it moves us.

I would love to find a message in a bottle, love the romantic idea of the mystery and chance that you take that they person who finds it would also take the time to read and take the message to heart and perhaps respond. When I was a child, we used to write messages and stuff them in helium balloons and release them to the wind. For weeks after I let go of that string, I would dream of the person who might have discovered my balloon. Perhaps they had found it twisting in the breeze and caught in some lonely branches, perhaps it was deflated by time, perhaps the message was read eagerly by a child who leaned out her window just as I was and talked to the stars about the mysterious someone who had let the balloon go. As time went by and no reply was forthcoming, I lost a bit of the shine in my eyes. Perhaps dreamers didn't live the world over after all.

Dreaming is something I happen to do a lot of as the days tick closer to Christmas. I dream of the things that I can count on each year--laughter, friendship, wrapping gifts, indulging in decadent desserts, feasting on turkey and finding time to give back to the community. I dream of snow and tinsel, bright lights and slow carols. I dream of the excitement of discovering what lies beneath gaily wrapped gifts and in finding the perfect something for the perfect someone. I think that may be my favourite part of the season--buying gifts for others and seeing their eyes light up when they peel back the paper to find the treasure hidden within. Shopping is all about the thrill of the hunt and the exhalted YES! of discovery.

Recently, I heard of a sport that was catching on, a treasure hunting game; one that required the use of cool tools, clever intellect and cunning skill. It could be done at one's own convenience, didn't have a loser element and was always evolving so that the challenge was always omnipresent throughout the game. And once again, I found myself captivated by the idea that there was a message out there for me to find, to unearth, to discover, to own. And though I might not ever know the true origin of the cache, might never stumble on someone else who was treasure hunting that same box at the same time that I was, I could imagine the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of discovery would inevitably bring together people of the same ilk. I haven't started geocaching yet, somehow I like the romantic idea of it and am afraid that once I begin, I will fall one of two ways--either I would not be able to stop myself or, like the balloon messages, I would be disappointed that my anticipation would come of naught.

So for now, I dwell on the ripeness of possibility and we shall see what arises.

"...if only in my dreams..."