#daydreaming

#daydreaming

What is available is the daydream-a limitless realm of freedom. In this other world, one might be famous or rich, finally catch the attention of their beloved, or simply sit on a beach as a waiter brings them cocktails. They might fly or speak to animals, heroically save a child, tell off their boss with no consequences, win the Super Bowl at the whistle, or travel to another continent, planet, or time period. No one can stop them; no one can even object.

For most of my life, I asked myself a quiet question: What's wrong with me? I didn't say it out loud. I didn't have to. It was stitched into how I moved through the world - hyperaware, self-correcting, and always just a little out of step. I knew how to "pass" in the right settings, but never without effort. Underneath it all, I was exhausted by the daily performance of normal.

Most people engage, especially when we are idle, in the seemingly harmless reverie of daydreaming. Letting your mind escape from the humdrum of your daily existence to a more pleasant set of circumstances seems not only harmless but, at times, necessary. Perhaps you're stuck in a long checkout line after stocking up at your favorite big box store. You've checked all your texts; your phone provides no relief.