Beyond Easter and my Nightmares...
Confession: I don't go as hard in the Egg Paint for Easter as say- Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, or Christmas…
I am also learning that things aren't always turning out the way you schedule them. The Impulse has taken me over as this morning has been a strange dream-journey already. It is odd the how the world feels in our vulnerable moments. Mine is brought on by post surgery of that appendix which is now but a memory. Some phantom part of my body that has now proven how fleeting it could possibly be. In this state of unfamiliarity- things are not what they seem and I seem to be having visions… quite literally.
It seemed as though my sleep last night was equivalent to five nights. Long and dramatic Nightmares occurred- five times and recurred. I'm sure you have had those… you wake up and it seems to color the darkness of the world all of a sudden. Mean spirited people, violence, brutal societies, apocalyptic visions- an overall sense of losing control.
You may say this is in the realm of what I enjoy {being a self-described ghost-storyteller} but whilst I acknowledge the dark side of things it is not where I choose to dwell. I am more interested in stories of characters and ghosties that are emerging FROM the dark times and into the light. Less so am I preoccupied with the wallowing in destructive angry impilses for shock’s sake.
But coming back to it, I'm relaying a feeling after all that terrible dread that cloyed at my mind when I awoke. I lit a candle to steady myself and almost as soon as that golden light flickered happily into existence… a voice in my head said "Happy Easter Sol."
Then I realized it was a special day. This is a unique incident for me- in general- I struggle to remember my dreams unless I write them down but for some reason I recalled these crystal clear and the trauma within them- I've been waiting for that- every now and then it happens. This was bittersweet because it was kind of frightening.
I always say Easter is my least favorite of the holidays. As a ghostly artist I loathe the color palette of pastel pinks and pale green and baby blue. Similtaneously, I have learned to aquire a taste for Springtime things as I calm and become more patient with my edgy self. I always felt this way- I attribute it to being a Fall Child.
So perhaps that gives you a background of my relationship to the day- But today was different. No doubt this is attributed to the humbling ordeals I've experienced of late. I feel that this is the most positive day and I am ever-grateful to feel that.
I have a background that ranges Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity. It's Trinity of Wonder, Respect, and Love for me. John Milton's Phenomonal Ghost Story "Paradise Regained” was truly an ah-ha moment for me.
I'm quite familiar with the Great Ghost Story that is The Resurrection of the Christ and I have come to appreciate the glory and the beauty of it's message which for me is that redemption is possible- for you, myself- all humanity- at any moment. It's one thing to know it- its another thing to feel it.
And that is what I felt lighting that candle after five straight merciless Nightmares.
No matter your own relationship to Easter Sunday-Any day can be that and it is always a blessing to experience it.
Wishing you a Magical day with Love and Light…
The Film about the Cat Sketch… Enjoy the show.
Solomon Landerman