The Edge of Oblivion

I had a dream last night as I was sleeping on the floor of a friends place. It was a very pleasant dream, despite some near drowning moments. Overall the dream was one of sweeping scale, with huge landscapes and such strong colours and feelings that made me feel more alive than when I'm awake.

 I’m standing on a beach, my feet buried in soft white sand. The sea breeze blows through my hair; I can taste the tangy salt and feel it cleansing my lungs. The water is turquoise, so pure that as you have never seen it before. Behind me massive, and I mean massive, cliffs tower up into the heavens. They’re made of white chalk and would dwarf even the Empire State Building. Out in the ocean stand huge white rocks. Seagulls float on the breeze, suspended and unmoving in the air. The fabric of reality is permeated with a raw primal energy. This is how the earth looked when it was young and man had yet to defile it.

 I wasn’t alone; I was there with twenty or so other people. We were barefooted, dressed in light shorts and shirts and the general mood was one of amazement. We all stared up at the virgin skies and imposing cliffs feeling overawed at the sheer power of everything. 

In my hands I clutched a small iron box, within it were my most treasured possessions and I clutched this box as tightly as I could, afraid to loose it in this wild world. I stepped into the crystal water, the liquid wrapping itself eagerly around my feet. I walk out until the water reaches my waist. I watch the waves roll along the beach and first then do I notice their oddness. These waves don’t crash into the beach as most waves do, rather the go sideways, they roll along the beach and never really seem to stop. They’re massive though. Huge crescents church the white sand as they form hollow tubes of water.

 My box of precious treasures slips from my grasp then, fingers suddenly incapable of holding onto it any longer. A moment’s panic seizes me and I scrabble with the water to retrieve it. But just then one of these sideways waves sweeps me up and carries me down the beach. Instinct kicks in and I bodysurf on the crest of the wave. I watch the coast slip by and see various people playing in the water.

 The wave carries me out to sea though. The current is strong here, pulling me out towards the sea, towards the massive stone edifices standing proudly in the ocean. I swim furiously against the current, muscles pumping and churning the water. It’s to no avail, I slowly drifted further and further away from the coast. I wasn’t alone. I recognised some people being swept away by the furious current.

 But then I was saved. On the shore there had been a concrete boat. It resembled a small Viking trade ship, also known as a knarre. The boat was broken though, with part of its concrete hull smashed, creating a large gap. The boat was flooded, the keel scarped along the bottom as my friends furiously paddled with their hands. Somehow, despite logic they managed to propel the boat forwards to where I was swimming. I gratefully clamber into the boat. I flounder momentarily as I balance on the edge, my torso submerged in the water within the boat, my legs kicking uselessly in the ocean. I manage to get in eventually.

 Then we try to sail the boat. I shout to my comrades to paddle in unison. We stick our hands in the water and paddle, but we only manage to make the boat scrape along the sea floor. I realise we have to repair the boat somehow. There is concrete rubble in the bottom of the boat. We use this to patch the hole in the boat, fitting the blocks together carefully. We bail the water out of the boat and miraculously the water doesn’t pour through the cracks. The boat lifts out of the water and together we sail the concrete boat out into the horizon.

I never used to interpret dreams much myself. Used to consider them random images and thoughts meshed together. I'm becoming more of the opinion that there really is something more to dreams than just that. So, any interpretations?