I woke up and turned to Jessica, “I just had an extraordinary dream.”
I was on a rocky cliff at the ocean’s edge. It was dusk. I was with friends and family and strangers. There was a growing sense of danger, a feeling that we were all going to die. Then, on the horizon, we saw a huge train speeding across the ocean at us. And with it, a tsunami. There was going to be a massive catastrophe and death was inescapable.
I was somehow aware our experience was being collectively broadcast and felt by people around the world. There was international television coverage and everyone was tuned in. They, too, knew their death was moments away. The tsunami perhaps, or something else would kill us all. There wasn't just a fear of death--there was a certainty of it.
On the rocky cliff I watched in horror as the train plummeted towards us. The rocks were sharp and slippery, it was impossible to run. A split second before the train and tsunami hit I hurled myself into the water in an attempt to escape. As I surfaced to see what happened the tsunami had disappeared and the train had stopped nearby, gently floating. It looked like a huge toy. I could see fake animals and silly creatures in the windows. I realized I had been fooled.
All of the millions of people watching TV had the exact same experience. There was a collective realization that we had been tricked by an incredibly believable production. Tricked into believing that our death was inevitable--seconds away. But no, it was all just an illusion. Our lives were exactly as they had been before. I remember in the dream reading news coverage of far away prisoners killings themselves en masse when they thought their death was coming. But beyond that there was no outbreak of violence.
I learned that behind the ‘show’ was a brilliant director who created what was essentially a fake documentary about the end of the world. The film was designed to make people think what they were watching was live coverage of their impending doom, much like the famous War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938. But different in that people watching didn’t just worry something bad was happening or that they might die, the knew they would die. Millions of people felt with absolute certainty they would die within seconds, and then didn’t.
Less than an hour after the fake documentary ended its Facebook site had 52 million fans. There was a worldwide outburst of joy, unity, gratitude. I felt a deep and real appreciation of life itself. Of just being alive. And how easy to take for granted. To become absorbed by our own individual realities. I’m consumed with my job, my family, my ego. It all seems so vitally important. But is it really? In the dream it felt like we were all brought to a collective higher consciousness. Everyone around the world, at the same time, realized that just being alive is a gift.
For some reason my brother Josh had missed the show. I remember feeling bad for him, that he had missed out on one of the most historic moments in human history. How would Al Qaeda fighters react, how would truly evil people react? Would conflict between countries, between all people end? I don’t know, but it’s a thought.
I was on a rocky cliff at the ocean’s edge. It was dusk. I was with friends and family and strangers. There was a growing sense of danger, a feeling that we were all going to die. Then, on the horizon, we saw a huge train speeding across the ocean at us. And with it, a tsunami. There was going to be a massive catastrophe and death was inescapable.
I was somehow aware our experience was being collectively broadcast and felt by people around the world. There was international television coverage and everyone was tuned in. They, too, knew their death was moments away. The tsunami perhaps, or something else would kill us all. There wasn't just a fear of death--there was a certainty of it.
On the rocky cliff I watched in horror as the train plummeted towards us. The rocks were sharp and slippery, it was impossible to run. A split second before the train and tsunami hit I hurled myself into the water in an attempt to escape. As I surfaced to see what happened the tsunami had disappeared and the train had stopped nearby, gently floating. It looked like a huge toy. I could see fake animals and silly creatures in the windows. I realized I had been fooled.
All of the millions of people watching TV had the exact same experience. There was a collective realization that we had been tricked by an incredibly believable production. Tricked into believing that our death was inevitable--seconds away. But no, it was all just an illusion. Our lives were exactly as they had been before. I remember in the dream reading news coverage of far away prisoners killings themselves en masse when they thought their death was coming. But beyond that there was no outbreak of violence.
I learned that behind the ‘show’ was a brilliant director who created what was essentially a fake documentary about the end of the world. The film was designed to make people think what they were watching was live coverage of their impending doom, much like the famous War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938. But different in that people watching didn’t just worry something bad was happening or that they might die, the knew they would die. Millions of people felt with absolute certainty they would die within seconds, and then didn’t.
Less than an hour after the fake documentary ended its Facebook site had 52 million fans. There was a worldwide outburst of joy, unity, gratitude. I felt a deep and real appreciation of life itself. Of just being alive. And how easy to take for granted. To become absorbed by our own individual realities. I’m consumed with my job, my family, my ego. It all seems so vitally important. But is it really? In the dream it felt like we were all brought to a collective higher consciousness. Everyone around the world, at the same time, realized that just being alive is a gift.
For some reason my brother Josh had missed the show. I remember feeling bad for him, that he had missed out on one of the most historic moments in human history. How would Al Qaeda fighters react, how would truly evil people react? Would conflict between countries, between all people end? I don’t know, but it’s a thought.
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