Life is But a Dream….
You know how it goes. Sing or read along with the melody in your head….
Row, Row, Row your Boat
Gently down the Stream
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily
Life is But a Dream
The spiritual seeker and mystical thinker that I am, does a lot of noticing. And a lot of pondering and musing. And I’ve done a whole lot of this over the past year or so about this well-known and likely one of the first children’s nursery rhymes that, if you are an English-speaking person, likely learned when you were a toddler.
Originally published in 1852, by songwriter, Eliphalet Oram Lyte, whose tune was changed 2 years later to the one we are familiar with today, this song has remained a classic in children’s culture and has appeared in several movies, TV shows, and even concerts by well-known entertainers, i.e., Bing Crosby.
A simple song. However, one that carries a prophetic meaning, a deeper message, if you’re a dreamer like me.
Let’s start at the beginning:
“Row, Row, Row your Boat”
As humans, I believe we have a purpose and mission in this lifetime, even if you’re not sure what it is or you feel like you’ve lost your way at times. This “Boat” could represent your purpose or even your own life. Perhaps our purpose is to experience life as that unique expression of Spirit or the Divine-a collective purpose- and our mission(s) could be our individual choosings or our preferences, or rather what we love to do in our lifetimes, whether that be in our career paths, relationships, interests, or hobbies.
You are the boat. Carrying your heart’s desires, dreams, callings, and life experiences. A magical boat.
And you’ve been instructed to “Row, Row, Row”
A spiritual call to show up….to be present….to return and to be one with Life. To live each moment, each day, with inspired action, with intention, and with mindfulness. Rowing is doing, yes, but it also symbolizes being.
Be Who You Are….If you’re a sailboat, stop trying to be a yacht. And if you’re a yacht, stop trying to be a sailboat.
Live Your Life….in only the way that you can. Your way. Keep rowing your boat, and be true to yourself. Look out for the rocks, correct your course as needed, and pay attention to those you meet. Allow intention and mindfulness to be your compass and follow your life’s path.
“Gently”
-Or in other words-stay in the ‘flow.’
Allow your boat to go around the boulders.
Don’t fight the current and do allow yourself to be taken downstream. Don’t try to go back. It’s passed.
Be one with the water and follow the path of least resistance.
Be loving and kind and compassionate to yourself and others. Life is not a race to be won or a competition to be had. Don’t make it any harder than it already is. Let Gusto and Grace be your companions as you face challenges within the storms and rocky waters.
“Down the Stream”
This again speaks to being in flow, being one with the water or ‘life’ if you will, in a downward motion, not upward.
You can’t chase or grab water-you can’t stay in the past, nor do you want to, as that only hinders your personal growth, your natural evolution.
Don’t Look Back
You’re
Not Going
That Way
Down the stream also implies being in the moment-the only one we have. Or as Eckhart Tolle likes to describe it-The Power of Now.
Perhaps by simply practicing the art of noticing and being (not so much doing), we will float toward greater understanding and forgiveness of self and others, arrive at acceptance, and perhaps encounter enlightenment.
Paradoxically, ascension requires more of a downward motion in the ways mentioned here, in order to move or transform into an upward one. Release
“Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily”
Sounds easy, but takes a bit of patience for the ego-mind.
Look for the joyous moments in each day. Even in the dark times. There is joy to be found, just look for it.
No, we can’t always alter or control our life circumstances or what seems to haunt or perplex us, but we can adjust our attitude and mindset.
Choose to feel, to see, to hear, to touch the good in the world. Brene Brown defines joy as a feeling of “deep spiritual connection, pleasure, and appreciation.”
When we feel “merry”, we aren’t losing ourselves or pretending, rather, we’re becoming more “truly ourselves.”
“Life is But a Dream”
When we think of the word, dream, we often think of something that’s unreal, not tangible, or we imagine something so fantastically wonderful, it’s beyond our grasp. Both concepts are true.
The only constant in life is change. We’re only here for a short time, but having stardust in our DNA, we are Divine Source itself, expressing itself in boundless, endless ways, in as many or more stars as there are in the universe.
When this dream ends, another one begins.
This knowing is not to be felt as anything other than freeing and liberating! Poets, philosophers, scholars, and spiritual teachers have told us this for years.
Keep moving forward, flow with the currents of life and time, enjoy the journey instead of rushing or struggling against it. It’s all temporary.
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple.
And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
—Alan Watts
As a toddler, I was gifted with a musical toy, a “TV” with 2 revolving tunes and moving images-one scene set to the song of London Bridge, and the other….of course, Row, Row, Row your Boat. No doubt, this toy was played countless times, and I like to imagine it having entertained or comforted me as an infant or toddler.
This toy happens to be one of the few remaining childhood items I still possess and I see it everyday from where it sits. An interesting thing about this object is that it likes to spontaneously play for a few seconds at random times, always catching me by surprise. I have my own ideas as to who my “ghost” may be, and during the last time it played for me (as of this writing), I walked over to take a look and it had stopped at the most perfect frame….
Thank you, Spirit, for reminding me that Life is But a Dream.
Til next we meet in the forest….
Love,
Amanda♥️
