Shopno - the dream

Shopno - the dream. In Bangla, the word shopno easily translates to the English word dream. We all dream. Physicians will attest to the fact that there are physiological processes that explains the dream we often experience when the brain is resting. There are other professionals who would take a lot of trouble to explain the dreams and provide interpretations of the dreams. But I dream when I am awake. It is what may be called a "daydream." I have bondhus who dream, not a pipe dream of some unreal future. They dream and they aspire. If we stop dreaming, then we are content with what we have. Contentment is statis. There is no more growth when you stop dreaming and aspiring. I know a bondhu who started with a beat-up old Toyota, but never stopped dreaming. Now the person owns a business, has prospered into the dream the person had, and as we chatted, I learnt of the next dream the next aspiration. Another bondhu dreamt of owning a business, breaking out of the stereotype, and demonstrating what can be actually done when a dream starts to become a reality. But we often connect dreams with aspirations which makes the dream a transactional moment. It is as if saying I dream of making a lot of money and that becomes an aspiration and then becomes effort. Yet that effort itself can become a nightmare and what starts as a dream becomes a waking nightmare. There is thus the saying, "be careful what you wish for." And that applies to everything that seems unreachable. When it is reached, then there are burdens that come with the destination. Yet we dream. And we must. I daydream of moments that I try to visualize that will happen in the future - things that will bring joy and the comfort that only fulfilled dreams bring. The moments you think about and conjure in your mind, a smile, a beckon, an invitation, "esho (come)," the moments which you know are possible, but you dream of because the dream itself is comforting. I wonder if that then is a dream or an anticipation. The moments you have been living for, and you have anticipated for weeks and then they actually happen. A dream come true. Or the sheer pain of knowing that what you had made up in your mind, the tiny moments, the inconsequential gestures were merely the workings of a hopeful mind that reached for the sun and was burnt like Icarus. Dreams die hard. The gossamer threads of an imagined reality drift away in the face of a reality where you are put in your place and reminded that what you really were thinking was not true - merely a dream. At that moment of utter agony, you realize that the very fabric of meaning is called into question, and you enter a moment of existential crisis and promise not to sleep again, lest you dream again, and wake up to the horrifying reality that it was only a dream. But then, there are the glorious moments when the events of your dream, that shopno desh (place) comes true. And you suddenly enter a reality, and you say to yourself, "this is what I had dreamed of." Those are the moments of sheer pleasure - moments that are rare - but there are bondhus in everyone's lives who make the dreams come true. Or at least make a genuine effort to know your dreams, be awed by them, and decide that they will do anything to make your dreams come true. That is the true labor of love. To make the other's dream come true. Therein lies the true response to the call, "Where Art Thou?" and I am able to say, "Here I am" Always. Forever. To ensure your dreams come true. Cherish it if you are in either position: to be able to call and know someone is out there to respond unconditionally, or to be able to respond to the call for the person who stands there, and you are able to respond to the call unconditionally. That is the true dream - to find that person. And once you find that person, do not let go, because that person will make your dreams come true. This is the person that the Everly Brothers talks about when they say: "Whenever I want you, all I have to do is/Dream, dream, dream, dream"