“To Infinity and Beyond ! “-Buzz Lightyear , Toy Story

This amazing shot of Orion’s belt in the night sky at the Ruins of Hampi, India had me totally astounded at the very first glance.  

Life can be disheartening at times. We plan out our goals, our dreams and aspirations and start pursuing them. But sometimes we get so tired of the things we do that we forget the real reasons why we started doing them in the first place.

We start getting drained. Repetition leads to boredom. One coffee in the morning turns to 4 throughout the day. Eventually, we reach our saturation point. We hit a plateau and we give up. All of that initiative, time and energy spent for nothing. In order to avoid scenarios like those, we need to take occasional breaks from it all. A ‘quick-fix’ if you will.

Everyone has a quick fix; their own sort of way to escape reality. Be it music, dancing, reading, watching a show, cooking, playing sports, drinking alcohol, writing, smoking, working out, chilling with nature etc.

Honestly, I’ve tried each of the ones I just mentioned at some point in my life but for me personally, nothing is more satisfying than star gazing. I could go on for hours and hours on end peering into that endless void we call the night sky.

It reminds me of our frailty and how insignificant our entire world is in the grand scheme of things. If you are lucky enough to venture away from the light pollution of the cities, you’ll get to see just how many stars you’re actually missing out on.

And all of those glowing celestial bodies in the sky are only ones that are visible from our POV (point of view) from Earth. There are at least 100 billion Stars in our galaxy alone that lie outside the visible spectrum.

One particular night, I had set out to watch a meteor shower with a friend and ended up seeing 7 ‘shooting stars’. I was exhausted after the 4th hour and thought to myself -“Seven wishes are way more than I need. I’m just gonna pass out here.”

As I snuggled up cosily under my blanket, I had what would turn out to be the best nap of my life till date! And what followed, I would describe as a vivid lucid dream. It was Intense!
It started out slow. All I remember seeing in the beginning of the dream was a myriad of colors swirling and intermixing gently into this rainbow spiral.

The colors gradually began spinning faster and faster, blending into so many shades and hues. Soon enough, it turned into a calm portal. It had the texture of a wavy ocean surface, except that it was upright and facing me. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I just had to jump into it and so I did.

Instantly I felt like I was being warped through space and time; almost as if I was travelling through a wormhole of sorts. Everything was happening so quickly. I was moving at this incredibly high velocity yet there was no inertia, no  resistance whatsoever. It was just a free flow of energy, of thoughts, of love, racing indefinitely.

Gradually, it did slow down and I saw a similar portal, except this one was covered with all kinds of geometric shapes and designs. I went through it and boom! The dream was over and suddenly I was back to reality; or so I thought.

I was still lying on the cool grassy field with my blanket. I glanced down at my snacks and water bottle and they were exactly where I left them too. I couldn’t help but try to picture and relive that crazy dream I just had. And then I looked at the sky.

There were these immensely bright constellations moving and orbiting each other onto no end. It was like a gigantic revolving hologram; the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen! Magnificent yet short lived though, for I was soon woken up by my friend. Which means I was still dreaming this entire time? Damn!

A dream within a dream, my very own ‘Inception’ experience. It was morning by then and there was but one visible star in the sky, the sun.

I wondered later what it meant or if it even had some sort of philosophical meaning at all? Then again, I wonder often if we humans have any meaning or purpose other than to just exist.

Maybe, the universe was trying to teach me something. Something I didn’t comprehend at that instance itself, but it gave me an experience that I would go on to cherish for the rest of my days.

Maybe it was trying to show me that no matter how crazy your journey may seem, it can always end at any moment. That’s why it’s crucial to always appreciate all the beauty that surrounds you for as long as you can; even if it’s only for a fleeting instance of time.

Or Maybe I was just really tired and that’s what led me to sleep so soundly and  experience that dream within a dream.

I guess we’ll never know for sure!  =)