Yesterday was a long-awaited-for, major, positive turning-point-day, healthwise, for both myself and my wife. Quite exhausting, especially after I wound down by watching Hitchcock’s classic The Lady Vanishes no less. Followed by one of those unexpected, profound deep sleeps.
Elsewhere/earlier in this blog, I had commented about the serendipitous pleasures of meeting other musical heroes in dreamland, remarkably, without any apparent stimuli or conscious desire, Last night I met the legendary Miles Davis, arguably the modern jazz era’s jazz genius. He was every bit as mysterious and interesting as any interviews I’ve heard or seen of him. The familiar raspy voice and no-nonsense attitude toward whatever questions or intrusiveness.
Miles and his band were staying at the Westin and playing a gig here in town. Miles was as he appeared in later life–gaunt and ringleted, with sunglasses when onstage. He was actually quite a nice guy and even signed the complete Columbia boxset and special Kind of Blue boxsets I asked him to sign with his famous colored pens (which he kept with him for his famous impromptu sketching.). At the concert he was back to playing some of the Kind of Blue album which was easier on/for his declining chops.
The dream was totally unexpected, longish, and most pleasurable. He definitely is one of three or so greats I wish I could have seen in concert. And, of course, meeting him was quite a not-surprising high to transition me from yesterday’s turning point into a more low-key Wednesday.
The irrational (as my previous poem points out) is everywhere around and in us daily. Often the irrational takes the form of crazy things that others (such as governments or crazy individuals) do which one sees, hears or reads about. We all also have our own irrational moments, desires, or sides, no matter how common-sensical or rational we profess or aspire to be. (“Lord what fools these mortals be!”)
And much of life, too, remains mysterious or a mystery. Dreams often fall into that category. But I find more and more, as I age, that many of these irrational manifestations or occurrences frequently are potentially or actually pleasurable and fall into, what Northrop Frye termed, wish fulfilment. These special, unusual moments finally say much about who we most are as individuals and the deeper nature of our private inner lives.