I’ll retire July 1st this summer at almost 68. My unicorns are already in the stable - in the shape of 1290SAR and 690RFR - and will receive a navigational update in the shape of a brand new tablet - replacing the Garmin GPS. Then I’ll simply bumble around Scandinavia and maybe the Baltics a while. In well calculated doses. Maybe divert via the UK or Ireland. It doesn’t need to be great or worldwide to keep my dreams fulfilled. Your Mileage May Vary ;-)
I do wonder if our daydreams, or nightly ones for that matter, are heavily influenced by books / stories / movies?
Do remote tribes, without access to books and movies dream differently? Are their dreams different? Are they influenced by the word-of-mouth stories told round the campfire?
In times of extreme stress (as in war) do our dreams turn to the mundane as that is what we desire most of all whilst the shells rain down?
If childhood books weren't all about good v evil, right v wrong, princes and dragons, battles with evil empires and such, but more about fun times with mates and fruitful negotiations to ensure both parties got a good deal, would kids dream of winning friends and influencing instead of conquering?
Maybe someone has met a remote tribe and asked them what they dream about...
My job before retirement was driving a tractor trailer, I've driven approximately 3 million miles, traveled through the 48 contiguous states, a number of Canadian Provices.
I daydreamed my whole life so far, while driving I would think about people who crossed continents on foot or by horse back, families in wagons. The things they must have experienced.
My reading as a child was towards science fiction and fantasy, adventure books.
Even now I dream of traveling to different worlds.
A friend once said of me, if you were offered a ride to the moon you would go.
I think sometimes of Sam Manicom who sold everything and has been on the road since, or countless others who have done the same, I follow RTW Paul, I read his extensive ride report in adv rider, I don't know if I would have had the courage to cross over the Vitim River on that rickety bridge.
I day dream of travel.
I follow a few others and wonder if I should sell all of my stuff and disappear.
I won't write much, since you are the amazing story teller. But I will say my favourite books as a young boy in Canadian elementary school were 'choose your own adventure'. These books allowed daydreamers like us to read a few pages, come to a crossroads in the plot, and then decide which page to turn to based on 3 options. Like the Zelda video game, I guess, but in prehistoric book format. Option 1 may lead you down an eventual road to death, and Option 2 perhaps an aspiring Legolas with newly a-pointed ear-wings on a recovery mission to find Mr. Spock after he was ejected back to Old Earth from the USS Enterprise. The point is, it was always an exciting Adventure. And that's what daydreamers live for: ADVenture. Not climbing the corporate ladder while dying a slow and painful existence. No, we risked total absolution.
In closing, my grade 3 home room teacher (who incidentally I had a major crush on) wrote in my report card "Ralf is a brilliant student but is prone to daydreaming in class". In those day (early 80s) educators would not have even thought of replacing the word 'but' with 'and' in that sentence and topping it off with a maraschino-cherry-exclamation-mark, Yes. Ms B (you hot nugget, you) I WAS daydreaming...daydreaming of more Adventure. And that was frowned upon why again?
Here is my take on stories, daydreamed or otherwise.
Note: Tension always seeks resolution. It is an immutable law of the Universe.
You pull the clutch lever in to switch to the final gear, you know...the one that will rocket you up the final one hundred feet of the hill climb. You will be victorious! The spectators will yell "Huzzah" as you propel yourself up and over the ramparts. You will gift the awe-inspired peasants the opportunity for a brief fantasy...they are you, the brave and skillful warrior-conqueror. You are grinning like the Cheshire Cat, all-knowing and full of yourself.
SNAP!
The resulting lack of cable tension creates an immediate change in your reality. Even at the relatively slow touch-to-brain nerve signal speed(s) of 178-268 mph, you are still at a full stop before your brain can resolve the 'now what' tension created by the broken cable.
So, the tension on the clutch cable (seeking resolution) resolves when the cable snaps. The resolved cable tension also affects the 'story' tension going on in your mind. In place of the positive story tension being resolved by sailing up and over the ramparts, it is relieved by the agony of defeat.
No "Huzzah!"
The point? Tension ALWAYS seeks resolution, especially in dreams and reality.
Take some (mostly subconscious) ideas:
- The tension of "I am a coward" can lead to professions and pastimes that include: firefighter,
hang-gliding, police officer, military bomb squad tech, etc. Why? Because the positive feedback
from the general public helps to (albeit temporarily) relieve the tension, i.e., "I am a coward. I
should be brave."
- "I am overweight and ugly." Modeling, acting, hostess/host, etc.
- "I am stupid." Teacher, author, architect, writer, etc.
- "I am incompetent and/or invisible." Doctor, engineer, IT professional, scientist, etc.
There are many additional examples of self-images that drive people into tension-relieving
professions, and pastimes. There are also naturally intelligent, competent, visible, attractive people
who simply choose professions and pastimes that support their individual attributes.
So are the dreams and realities of the typical motorcyclist (me included) driven by highest ideals and aspirations, or are we driven by a tension release structure that seems to help resolve some uncomfortable ideas we harbor about ourselves?
I was going to sign off, "Keep the rubber side down," but I'm not a good role model for being consistent in that particular skill.
Fair Winds! (From a hang-glider pilot who hardly ever crashed)
I’ll retire July 1st this summer at almost 68. My unicorns are already in the stable - in the shape of 1290SAR and 690RFR - and will receive a navigational update in the shape of a brand new tablet - replacing the Garmin GPS. Then I’ll simply bumble around Scandinavia and maybe the Baltics a while. In well calculated doses. Maybe divert via the UK or Ireland. It doesn’t need to be great or worldwide to keep my dreams fulfilled. Your Mileage May Vary ;-)
I do wonder if our daydreams, or nightly ones for that matter, are heavily influenced by books / stories / movies?
Do remote tribes, without access to books and movies dream differently? Are their dreams different? Are they influenced by the word-of-mouth stories told round the campfire?
In times of extreme stress (as in war) do our dreams turn to the mundane as that is what we desire most of all whilst the shells rain down?
If childhood books weren't all about good v evil, right v wrong, princes and dragons, battles with evil empires and such, but more about fun times with mates and fruitful negotiations to ensure both parties got a good deal, would kids dream of winning friends and influencing instead of conquering?
Maybe someone has met a remote tribe and asked them what they dream about...
I’m now determined to stay far away from ‘evil horse dealerships’!
My job before retirement was driving a tractor trailer, I've driven approximately 3 million miles, traveled through the 48 contiguous states, a number of Canadian Provices.
I daydreamed my whole life so far, while driving I would think about people who crossed continents on foot or by horse back, families in wagons. The things they must have experienced.
My reading as a child was towards science fiction and fantasy, adventure books.
Even now I dream of traveling to different worlds.
A friend once said of me, if you were offered a ride to the moon you would go.
I think sometimes of Sam Manicom who sold everything and has been on the road since, or countless others who have done the same, I follow RTW Paul, I read his extensive ride report in adv rider, I don't know if I would have had the courage to cross over the Vitim River on that rickety bridge.
I day dream of travel.
I follow a few others and wonder if I should sell all of my stuff and disappear.
I won't write much, since you are the amazing story teller. But I will say my favourite books as a young boy in Canadian elementary school were 'choose your own adventure'. These books allowed daydreamers like us to read a few pages, come to a crossroads in the plot, and then decide which page to turn to based on 3 options. Like the Zelda video game, I guess, but in prehistoric book format. Option 1 may lead you down an eventual road to death, and Option 2 perhaps an aspiring Legolas with newly a-pointed ear-wings on a recovery mission to find Mr. Spock after he was ejected back to Old Earth from the USS Enterprise. The point is, it was always an exciting Adventure. And that's what daydreamers live for: ADVenture. Not climbing the corporate ladder while dying a slow and painful existence. No, we risked total absolution.
In closing, my grade 3 home room teacher (who incidentally I had a major crush on) wrote in my report card "Ralf is a brilliant student but is prone to daydreaming in class". In those day (early 80s) educators would not have even thought of replacing the word 'but' with 'and' in that sentence and topping it off with a maraschino-cherry-exclamation-mark, Yes. Ms B (you hot nugget, you) I WAS daydreaming...daydreaming of more Adventure. And that was frowned upon why again?
Damn...you sure can pen a sentence, woman.
Here is my take on stories, daydreamed or otherwise.
Note: Tension always seeks resolution. It is an immutable law of the Universe.
You pull the clutch lever in to switch to the final gear, you know...the one that will rocket you up the final one hundred feet of the hill climb. You will be victorious! The spectators will yell "Huzzah" as you propel yourself up and over the ramparts. You will gift the awe-inspired peasants the opportunity for a brief fantasy...they are you, the brave and skillful warrior-conqueror. You are grinning like the Cheshire Cat, all-knowing and full of yourself.
SNAP!
The resulting lack of cable tension creates an immediate change in your reality. Even at the relatively slow touch-to-brain nerve signal speed(s) of 178-268 mph, you are still at a full stop before your brain can resolve the 'now what' tension created by the broken cable.
So, the tension on the clutch cable (seeking resolution) resolves when the cable snaps. The resolved cable tension also affects the 'story' tension going on in your mind. In place of the positive story tension being resolved by sailing up and over the ramparts, it is relieved by the agony of defeat.
No "Huzzah!"
The point? Tension ALWAYS seeks resolution, especially in dreams and reality.
Take some (mostly subconscious) ideas:
- The tension of "I am a coward" can lead to professions and pastimes that include: firefighter,
hang-gliding, police officer, military bomb squad tech, etc. Why? Because the positive feedback
from the general public helps to (albeit temporarily) relieve the tension, i.e., "I am a coward. I
should be brave."
- "I am overweight and ugly." Modeling, acting, hostess/host, etc.
- "I am stupid." Teacher, author, architect, writer, etc.
- "I am incompetent and/or invisible." Doctor, engineer, IT professional, scientist, etc.
There are many additional examples of self-images that drive people into tension-relieving
professions, and pastimes. There are also naturally intelligent, competent, visible, attractive people
who simply choose professions and pastimes that support their individual attributes.
So are the dreams and realities of the typical motorcyclist (me included) driven by highest ideals and aspirations, or are we driven by a tension release structure that seems to help resolve some uncomfortable ideas we harbor about ourselves?
I was going to sign off, "Keep the rubber side down," but I'm not a good role model for being consistent in that particular skill.
Fair Winds! (From a hang-glider pilot who hardly ever crashed)
TJ