"America," written by Paul Simon, includes the poignant lyric "Michigan seems like a dream to me now." Substitute Italy for Michigan and it sums up how my continent-hopping trip now feels, as if it took place in another lifetime. This past week I went between the past and the present, trying to decide which was the dream and which was the reality. Feeling sleepy during the mid-afternoon (when it would be the dead of night in Italy) and feeling hungry at 3:00 am (lunch time half a world away) didn't help.
As the week progressed I was no longer craving the afternoon nap nor waking from a dead sleep to a growling stomach. The patterns of this life fell back into place, the daily repetition becoming once again familiar, all while the images of Italian towns, landscapes and architecture began to shuffle further back in my memory.
Carl Jung would likely have a few things to say about interpreting my dreams. I am not worried about what someone else may think they mean, as I know they connect me to that place now so far away. What is more important, at least to me, is that I dream of distant lands and people and know it was true.
No comments:
Post a Comment