The Oneironaut Part ll

I came up with my own way to cope with bad days when I was a kid. I call it idealist daydreaming. Whenever I get too fed-up or feel confused about the world around me I go into my own dream world, which is just the way I want it. It is a place where childhood friends still live next door, where the first kiss I ever had still lingers. A place devoid of war, hatred and deceit. A place which feels as warm and snug as my mother's hugs felt when I was five. When I used to run to her when it hurt inside-out. A moment of sanctuary, peace and solace. When I wake up from this vivid dream, I find it much easier to accept the sometimes harsh realities of life. Call it escapism if you will, but I am not really running away, its just a temporary refuge, a place of comfort, to rest a while along the way.

That is how I write most of my stories too. The films I make will always be inspired from personal experience but will also contain certain elements of imagination, because after all, dreams are experiences too. Most of my stories have a happy ending(the jock-gets-dumped-and-the-geek-gets-the-girl ending), or at least a sense of hope. The world that 'could be' or 'ought to be'.

What is reality anyways, if not a sum of our ideas, beliefs and experiences? You are what you choose to believe. How does a child cope with sexual abuse? Pretend that it never happened, and then start believing it never happened. The Olympic athlete wins the race he has already won so many times in his mind. He remembers the familiar smell of the air, the faint noises of the cheering crowd and the bare curve of the track. He has been here before, countless days and nights.

This is how we start believing in the reality of our own creation. I used to have a bad reputation as a bluffer in high-school, and many people still consider me to be a lying bastartd, although thats a different story hehe. That first crush never kissed me on that first date....but then, she did....so many times, over and over again. Her taste still lingers on my lips, as if it was only yesterday.....