The Commencement of Tames Jadford Bralley

Happiness… the Great Oz - hiding behind the curtain… so elusive, yet so simple.

A choice… hidden in plain sight.

I feel as if I am waking up from a dream. A long and lucid dream.

The only thing I can compare this feeling to was the period of time spent falling into the dream itself. I remember feeling the divergence, like the switching of railroad tracks. I could see the sky open up… and I could feel all that was familiar starting to gently ease away. Much like a boat as it pushes slowly away from the shore, drifting further and further.

The National had released a new album during that time and I was drawn to the song, ‘Not In Kansas’. A beautiful riff, combined with an almost monotone yet melodic baritone - reciting fragments of nonsensical, yet emotive lyrics. Coincidence, foreshadowing… a road sign… sharp turn ahead.

Months later, I remember looking up at that eerie green night sky. Charged. Foreboding… already in motion. The tornado arrived a few hours later and nothing would be the same. But there was something else afoot. Something more than an act of nature. It felt larger… cosmic.

This vessel had caught the current. My grip could no longer hold, and I surrendered to the futility of it all. I was in transit now - the early stages of a journey that I was reluctant, yet destined to sail. Afloat in a vast ocean… with storm clouds gathering on the horizon.

I was afraid. Not sure I could survive the crossing. I was not in Kansas anymore.

Inside this dream, the deepest fears about myself challenged the hope that the best of me had yet to be discovered. Colorful characters and storylines weaved their way till morning… manifestations and amalgamations created through my subconscious.

Would this ship I had built hold steady and true?

Like the Scarecrow, I wanted a brain. When found, I refused to be a slave to it… so I worked to master it.

Like the Cowardly Lion, I sought courage - and I mustered enough when needed.

Like the Tin Man, I longed to find my heart. Eventually, buried deep beneath the rubble - I was able to uncover it.

And finally, like Dorothy… it turns out I had the power inside of me all along.

The power to click my heels three times, and find my way back home.

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Simple Man, Simple Dream…

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From the journals of Dr. Beauregard LeFleur.