Topic 41: A Defense of Daydreaming

Carol:

The Lovers, The Dreamers and…..Me

 I’ve always had an active dream life, mostly secret, and mostly to counterbalance my self-image as a wholesome, predictable, reliable (yawn) friend. In my dreams, one minute I was Jane Austin’s best friend sitting by an English brook and the next, Zorro’s wife riding  through the countryside bringing justice to old California. My most elaborate fantasies came as I lay in the dark, just after I had put down a book and before I fell asleep.

No wonder I loved fairytales, especially those of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) who was less scary than the Brothers Grimm. Young Hans was quite a daydreamer, and his parents encouraged his imagination. The Andersens  weren’t rich, just a simple tailor and a washerwoman, but they  finally allowed him at the age of 14 to seek adventure in Copenhagen. He told his mother,  “I'll become famous! First you suffer cruelly, and then you become famous" (Source: Encyclopedia of World Biography).

And, it was by a circuitous path of disappointment, cruelty, and longing in love that he eventually become a writer, publishing his first fairy tales between 1835-37.  Andersen first took familiar folk tales and painted them out with details before he began creating his own.  The stories are invitations to travel rich and exotic fantasy realms, as in the opening paragraph of “The Little Mermaid”:

“We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare  yellow sand. . . Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen" (source:  Candlelight Stories.com) 

Literary authorities will point out that Andersen’s success across cultures and ages comes from themes that touch on everyone’s experiences, but for me they encouraged my own sleep-time fantasies:

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Me (Source: The Rainbow Connection)

‘Night, John boy. ‘Night, Zorro. ‘Night, Hans ‘Night, Kermit.’

                                      

Sources:
Hans Christian Anderson bio
“The Little Mermaid”
The Rainbow Connection

Megan:

Around the time our book of topics was published, Daydreaming was not viewed in a positive way. At best it was considered a lazy past-time – Freud called it infantile and neurotic – at worst, a pathway to psychosis (Source: NYT). So, it is possible that this might have been a controversial subject back in the 1920’s … but now daydreaming is considered a mostly harmless activity, or an occasional frustration if you are trying to teach or get the attention of the dreamer.

For as long as I can remember my day dreams have centered around coming into some sort of fortune – either through an inheritance or a generous, anonymous benefactor who wants to support my creative endeavors. How I use the money changes depending on my mood – sometimes I travel the world, sometimes I set up foundations, or artists’ retreats like Yaddo. The most recent, elaborate version of this fantasy served to kill time on the 10-hour drive I took from Portland to San Francisco at the end of August.

I was unhappy to be leaving my friends after a too-short visit and simultaneously missing my friends in England, and unsure when I would see either group again. So, on the long drive coming down the 5, I formulated the following plan. With the inheritance money, I would buy two large houses, one in Portland and one in the south of England and I would find a friend in each place to live in the house and take care of the property, garden etc. I know exactly who to ask. I would divide my time between the places, and have a private studio for writing or painting or whatever at each place. But the main point is that I would have friends wherever I lived.
                     
That is clearly a single person’s daydream. But since I don’t have a partner or kids to worry about in real life, I forget to include them in my fantasies. I hope they get involved some day, but it’s hard for me to think about things that could happen.  Some people engage in creative visualization, but I try not to do that. Maybe I’ll change my mind at some point, but the one time I tried it, it actually worked and it completely freaked me out. I’m afraid that if I try to wield such power, I might draw the attention of spiteful, jealous spirits who will destroy everything I already have. Nope, don’t want that.

But daydreaming can serve other functions besides killing time on a long drive or visualizing the ideal life.  It can help you make a decision.  You can imagine various scenarios and results that might occur, which might focus your instincts and gut and make clear the right path.  Daydreaming can also relax your mind into a meditative state, opening your consciousness to new ideas and flashes of insight.  In any case, as pointed out in the New York Times article “Discovering the Virtue of a Wandering Mind,” we spend roughly 30 percent of our time unfocused and daydreaming, so we might as well embrace it. 

Source:

Tierney, John. "Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind." New York Times, June 28, 2010.