Image by miss mimee at dEviant Art
I sometimes feel that things are nothing to do with me. Conversations over lunch. Phone calls. Emails. Texts. Greetings in the street. Discussions at work.
It is not disinterest that causes this feeling, it’s just a sense that my mind needs to go somewhere else. I am cooking and I see castles made of stainless steel in a casserole lid. I imagine hieroglyphics on invoices. I could swear the ping of the cash register in the supermarket is actually secret code being sent directly to MI5.
I am usually a million miles away from where I actually am. It’s the way you feel when you wake up in the morning and you can’t quite remember what day it is.
Friends often complain I don’t see them waving to me in the street. That I seem to drift away when they are talking to me or that I bring up something in conversation that has nothing to do with what they’ve been talking about; a quirky little snippet that has stuck in my head.
Some people think I’m vague. Others think I’m rude. I think I’m merely daydreaming, a habit I’ve had since childhood when Sister Benedicta used to constantly chide me for gazing out the window in class and dreaming of wonderlands in the air.
I know I do it. I try not to. I think it stems from feeling I just don’t fit in. Sometimes in a group I just smile and nod, suspecting I have nothing to offer; and the daydreams rise unencumbered.
I can’t help but notice that shopfronts look like theatre backdrops and that at any moment they might change, becoming the sea or the sky. I can’t help but see the buckets of iris in the florist, loaded like arrows. No matter how hard I try the boy with socks the colour of lemon drops catches my eye.
I am incorrigible. I can’t help myself. But I am a believer of dreams. The day is full of paintings and songs and poetry. The focus of the day is illusory. The slivers of reality hiding in daydreams are what’s really going on. And I don’t think I can stop seeing them, even though I try.
Selma In The City 
A lovely post! Thanks.
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Me, too.
Also, your writing is beautiful… very poetic and … lyrical. Loved this post.
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if i were you i wouldn’t even try.. what i wouldn’t give for that power of imagination you have.. it allows you to create and tell stories beyond my wildest dreams,, and i am sure it must make life just a bit more colorful than it really is too….
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I see fractals in the gravel on the road, listen to the birds sing today’s greatest hits. Oh and let me not forget the percussion patterns of the rain…I’m glad I’m not alone. Thanks Selma…Sometimes the 6 foot tall ferns look like people…I’m serious.
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I think this is why you’re such a wonderful writer!
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I’m sorry i was reading this but got distracted (hee)
That happens to me all the time. People will be talking to me and I will look at them like -I have no idea what you just said – I call it getting distracted by something shiny
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This reminds me of something I once read, men think about you-know-what once in every few seconds. It is like their minds are wired to wander off to the particular subject. While women, our minds go through a wide range of subjects within a split second.
Been sick for 2 weeks, so my mind has been very “cloudy”, bah! 😮
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I hear ya Sel, I hear ya…I don’t see anything wrong with drifting off into daydreams (not when you are driving, natch ;<) ) What a great post to read. So honest and down to earth. Ive spent so much of my life feeling that I didn't "fit in" now as I get older, I don't care. The people I do care about (and have in the past) love me for who I am. Why worry about the people along the way who come and go in our lives? It's no wonder we tend to drift to another place. Nice to read Im not alone in this respect. 🙂
Hugs, G
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Ok, where is it? My comment just went poof!!! 😦
In a nutshell, great post so honest and open. Im glad Im not alone in this respect. Your comment about not fitting in, the daydreams when life becomes a bore…I can SO relate.
Great read here at Sel’s, as always.
Hugs, G
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I am like this too… I get lost in a stream of thought specially if I’m walking down the street.
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I’m a dreamer, too! Gimme a hug!
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What a wonderful discovery– your blog! I saw it mentioned on SocieteAmore and stopped by to check it out. You are a gifted writer. I’ll be back again soon to read more. Nice to meet you.
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Beautifully written, Selma. All the symptoms you have described are those of the artist.
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A daydreaming writer, that’s who you are. A beautiful poetic human always creating.
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SUE:
Thanks so much!
FAIQA:
I take that as a great compliment coming from you because I think you are wonderful. You have made my day!
PAISLEY:
You know what? It does make life more colourful. Let’s face it, life can be a bit on the drab side sometimes. A little daydream spices things up. However, I don’t want you to think by saying ‘spice’ that I mean anything of a naughty, inappropriate nature. Uh uh. Oh no. No erotic daydreams for me. I mean, I didn’t even notice that young guy in the super tight Levis. Heavens to Betsy!
PUNATIK:
You are a daydreamer too. I could tell straight away. The fractals in the gravel – what a treat to see that!
EMPLOYEE 3699:
Cheers, hon. 😀
RACHEL:
I always get distracted by the shiny too. Good one. 😆
MOTHER HEN:
I laughed and laughed when I read your comment. I recently read a similar article and when I asked my husband if it was true he said – ‘Yes, sad but true.’ So for a while I played the ‘penny for your thoughts’ game. Too much fun!
GERALDINE:
It is a good coping mechanism for me. If I didn’t have mu daydreams life wouldn’t be as sweet, that’s for sure!
NAT:
I am glad you said that because sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who does that. I often get completely lost in thought as I walk along.
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JONAS:
Big hugs all round. Here’s to the daydreamers!!!!
JOANNA:
Lovely to meet you. Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate you stopping by!
PAUL:
I bet you daydream and more. For you are the artist, my friend!
DANA:
Awww. What a lovely thing to say!
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I think anyone with any imagination at all does it … otherwise nobody would write anything more inspiring than a note to the milkman or a parking ticket.
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Don’t lose it. I’ve always been the same – half in the real world, half in my imagination. It’s the breeding ground for my words.
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Oh you are so like me! I do exactly the same. I am hardly ever HERE if you know what I mean. I am generally miles away. And I am very guilty of not really paying attention when people talk to me and yes, I am sure people think it is rude. I do focus when they are people I want to be with and things I want to talk about but otherwise I tend to switch off.
I am sure I live more of the time in my imagination (not sure exactly what I do there!) than I do in the real world. But I am very happy with that!
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Hi, this is a gorgeous post, and I really believe people should be free to be who they are, as you feel within yourself to be. I don’t like the undercurrent of we must all look the same, speak the same, do the same. As much as I also believe in the spirit of community, I also think the individual experience of life is important, too.
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TRAVELRAT:
Absolutely true. Now there’s an idea for a story – The Notes The Milkman Never Got or The Case of the Double Cream. It could work…..
ANTHONY:
Don’t you ever lose it, either. It’s important to keep the dreams alive!
RELUCS:
You are indeed a kindred spirit. It’s not that I don’t care about the people I talk to or anything, I never do it one on one, but in a group it’s a different story.
ROWE:
Nice to meet you. I couldn’t agree more. It is the individual throughout history who has saved us from ourselves and I think we should cultivate and encourage them – from scientists to writers. It is really important. So glad you stopped by!
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“You may say i’m a dreamer….but i’m not the only one”
My sister you are most definitely not alone 😉
You write so beautifully, I get the sense that there is such a wonderful soul residing within you…. goodness exudes from your every word,
With love, Maithri
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You’re simply choosing to see the beauty and magic in life. What could possibly be wrong with that? I do the same exact thing all the time. I think its part survival mechanism, and part an unconcious rememberance that the “real” life we see around us is actually the illusion, and daydreams are the reality. 😉
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Just checking in Sel. Hope things are ok with you.
We are trying to stave off another mini crisis here. 😦 Does it ever end….
Sending good thoughts, hugs, G
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MAITHRI:
Your comment means a great deal to me because you have such a beautiful soul yourself. It is wonderful to have met you via the blogosphere. It has definitely enriched my life!
STEPH:
Oh, I like that interpretation very much. Real life often does seem to be an illusion sometimes because it just seems so unbelievable. I have really missed you!!
GERALDINE:
Sorry to hear about your crisis. Sometimes it does feel like it never ends. You can cope with it, G. I know you can!
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I hear all good writers are daydreamers. If you give them up, you won’t be able to go back, so enjoy. I’ve decided it’s worth all the disdainful remarks – if they’d been where I was in my head, they wouldn’t say such things… hehe 😀
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TEXASBLU:
I do think if I were able to train myself to get rid of the daydreams they would be gone for good – you are so right. Here’s to keeping the daydreams alive!
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It’s because you are a TRUE writer. Thats why your ‘daydreaming’ its your very imagination which enables you to create such BRILLIANT stories! Dont ever try to stop it or control it!!!
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MELEAH:
I think it’s here to stay, hon. It’s odd because I feel it’s as much a part of me as the sound of my laugh or the way I walk. At least I don’t get in trouble for it as much as I used to!!
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