The Descent

I was at the top of a hill, a long stretch of road lay before me. The bicycle I was sitting on was sturdy and I could feel every fiber in my being begging me to push off and race down the descending path that lay before me….but I didn’t …I couldn’t….something was holding me back.

And then I woke up!

Dreams are a funny thing. They can be filled with such meaning and reason – a way for your   subconscious  mind to show you your deepest darkest desires or simply an avenue for you to fight those demons you never dare tell anyone reside within you. Or perhaps they mean absolutely nothing and are simply an after image of the last movie you saw or a passing remnant of a friend’s spoken words.

Sometime ago after a long night of studying at the library with a friend, we were set to go home. I grabbed my things put on my jacket and went to the bicycle I had borrowed from another friend which I had parked against a lamppost just outside the building. It was a cold winter’s night and I was glad I did not have to walk back home in what must have surely been sub-zero temperatures.

During our journey home we reached the top of a path which led to a descent of about of a few hundred meters. I beckoned to my friend who had gone on slightly ahead of me that he should return to the peak so we could have a race down the descent together. I wasn’t going to miss such a glorious opportunity.

And so there we stood. Shoulder to shoulder on our bicycles at the top of the hill looking down on the path we were about to pedal down with all our fury and might. The wind was chilled, the air still, it was quiet all around us and it was as though the entire world waited with baited breadth for us to push off into the night and speed downward into the long descent.

I lost the race!

During our descent that night, in the few moments before we reached the bottom of the path. There was a moment where time seemed to stand still for me. The serenity and sheer perfection of the nights air swathing over my skin, the rattling of the bicycle as it chewed up the gravel road beneath me, my heart pumping blood to my burning thighs as I struggled to overtake my friend.

It was euphoric!

In that moment I knew why I wanted to race down this path. I understood why I could not let such an opportunity pass me by. I knew the absolute joy it would bring me to be let loose along that road, like a caged bird finally set free by a benevolent master.

Life is truly a funny thing. We usually live vicariously through our dreams. Doing things we never could in real life supported by the fact that a dream is nothing but a dream. This instance in my life made me realise something though. I couldn’t push off in my dreams, but in reality when I had the same chance, I leapt off without a moment’s notice.  Sometimes life can be more fulfilling than even your wildest dreams. It’s just up to you to live it.