Dream, or memory? Aug21 '04
Yesterday afternoon, at about this time, we were walking around Epcot, eating at the Yakitori House in Japan, and witnessing all the cultural differences of each nation. Epcot is the only place on Earth where you can visit ten different countries in a single hour.
Much later into the night, we found ourselves at MGM Studios, strolling through the empty streets. We were the last ones out. We walked through some of the park, went backstage to get Nicole’s belongings, and then we headed out into the night.
Six hours later, with the dark of night still lingering, Nicole took us to Orlando International Airport, for our flight home to Chicago.
I sit here now – some thousands of miles from where I just was – staring out my office room window, and I wonder if the events of yesterday, and the past week really happened. It sure doesn’t seem like it.
Vacations are strange. They are so exciting and inviting when they are happening, but once you get home, it’s like it never happened.
And really, how could I ever prove, to myself, that I was there? All I have are memories.
Why do memories seem as distant as where they took place?
For example, the further away your memory happens, the harder it is to grasp the fact that it actually happened. In hindsight, if a memory happens just down the block, it seems more REAL, when you dwell on it later.
I think it’s a testament to the fact that one person can literally (and physically) be on opposites ends of the Earth – in the same day. Today’s aerospace capabilities are amazing in one respect, but they also cause different frames of mind to collide, which cause a distorted vision of what really happened. Or, better yet, it causes the mind to perhaps believe that a memory didn’t happen, and it was all just a dream.
And pictures don’t solve anything. Looking at a picture that I took, is like looking a painting that someone else painted. And the more time passes, the more that painting appears foreign.
I guess the question is... what’s the difference between a dream and a memory? I don’t see any difference. And therefore, there is no way to tell them apart.
Categories: Ponderings 
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I think there is a difference between a dream and legitimate memory. I have had some strange dreams at night and throughout the following day, litt ... Read more.