"What dreams may come." Shakespeare understood the world and its people, possibly better than anyone before him, perhaps better than anyone since. He knew that his plays, the stories he told, were the stuff of dreams, only tenuously informed by any actual past, and equally tenuously informing any future that might follow. From this he extracted a hope, perhaps a belief, that dreams might reflect something deeper and truer than the physical reality of the world around us.

In this, he was more than a playwright, more than a storyteller. Perhaps it would be fair to call him a preacher. Perhaps we are all preachers in our own way. Some preach doom and gloom, fire and brimstone. Others preach hope and love, faith and goodness. Some seek an audience. Others preach only to themselves.

But no one lives alone. We all live in the company of others. All are part of the All. All are part of the Big Dream. In that sense, All are One.

What is the message here? What is it that Shakespeare hoped to achieve? What is it that he, perhaps better than anyone before or since, managed to convey?

Being myself a reader, a writer, a dreamer, I may have a clue. You, being also a reader, perhaps also a writer and a dreamer, may have a similar clue.

For me, the clue lies in this: If the obvious departure from physical reality that dreams convey is not mere meaningless fancy, then what Shakespeare repeatedly suggested must be true. Dreams are a window onto a higher reality.

How high does it go, that hidden reality of dreams?

For me, dreams often offer glimpses into the secret minds of others. Glimpses of things that I didn't already know. Or at least of things I didn't already know I knew. I am not alone in my dreams. Just as I am not alone in our shared physical reality.

Upon examination, it becomes clear to me that my awareness of physical reality is itself little more than a dream, residing entirely in my mind. The persuasive power of this inner concept of physical reality apparently resides entirely in sharing awareness of it with other dreamers. With this thought comes the perception that every element of my physical reality, every flower, every tree, is another dreamer sharing its dream of itself with me.

This can be overwhelmingly difficult to encompass. To the point where I must mentally reduce my awareness of these details to a simple "it is what it is" acceptance. This acceptance is what allows me to conclude my examination of reality with a final observation.

Almost all of my external reality is quite stable. Its aspect is surely evolving, but so slowly as to have little impact on my acceptance. I am better served by focusing my attention on what I can expect to change rapidly. And in a manner that encompasses what I feel a need to be aware of.

With that, I am free to conclude these meanderings and resume my normal patterns of survival, of existence. To contribute my spark to the flame, and continue my participation in life, the universe and everything in the most satisfying manner I can manage.

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