…I close my eyes and dream of a world much simpler.
There Are no highways, no cars, no shopping centers or skyscrapers, just open land as far as the eye can see and when you turn around, a roaring mountainside stretching to the clouds.
A quiet cottage with a thatched roof, has joyfully placed itself in the center of this beautiful world.
The adjacent garden is overgrown with life and an abundance of vegetation. So much, in fact, that the creatures of the earth are welcomed to sample it’s many treasures.
A clothesline in the distance grasps white linen sheets and they fight for the brief opportunity to dance with the passing wind.
The summer sun shines brightly, but not harshly. It’s the kind of sunshine that warms your shoulders in the most soothing way as you pluck ripe berries from all around, rejoicing that the earth has provided you with such a magnificent treat.
With a full belly and a gentle smile on your face, you wander to the brook and rest your feet in, letting the cool water run over your toes as you lay back and gaze up at the samples of blue sky you can make out through the lush green canopy.
The shade from the soaring trees provides a cool resting place for you to take an afternoon nap…
I must confess, I am not dying in the way you may have assumed, but I am also not living. Not the way we are meant to be.
Three decades have passed in my life and though I have much to show for it, when I close my eyes, it is always this place that I see.
Our world has fooled us into believing we need so much, when in fact, all we need is less.
So as I lay here dying, as well all are, day by day, I close my eyes and dream of what I hope heaven will be, looking forward to living in a world I’ve dreamt of for thirty long years. And just before I drift to sleep, I say a quiet prayer that those I love dream of that same little place.