When I was in high school, I used to day dream my way through entire classes. I never cared for mathematics, as there were so many details and steps to take note; If I missed one thread of what was going on, I’d slip into a mental paralysis, stare out of the window, and I was gone for half an hour or so! I remember the teacher saying, “Okay class, now that you all seem to understand the basics of what I have said today, I will start by going around the room, asking questions”! Suddenly there would be a deafening silence, I’d slip out of my coma and notice everyone looking at me! Especially the teacher!
We all seem to have a mechanism inside of ourselves that can switch on and off, depending upon the content of what is happening in real time. I remember working with someone recently; They would slip away during our morning meetings. All of a sudden, he’d start giggling to himself, then look up, only to find all of his looking at him and wondering what on earth was going on inside of his head.
Daydreaming, I find, is a release from reality. If one has troubles at home or with a relationship, or has experienced a recent shock, then the mind seems to over ride everything by sending us into a parallel time frame; We appear to be in another world to other people, but in fact, we are reliving and sifting through the segments of our trauma or disposition. This is why sleep is good in extreme cases of shock.
When sleeping, we rest, but our minds seem to detatch and continue working without our emotional attachments. If we didn’t sleep, then our minds would be cluttered and operate without clarity, therefore distorting our perceptions of reality, during the awake time. I would say that sleep, is like rebooting or Defragging a computer.
When a teacher encounters a daydreaming pupil amidst the members of his or her classroom, there are several possibilities at play; Either the pupil is sifting and Defragging their way through their troubles; Or, they simply aren’t getting enough sleep and need to finish off what their brains were doing during the night! Or, it maybe a case of the teacher, not engaging and challenging the pupil’s levels of interest; Droning his or her way through the subject, in order to keep up with the curriculum, especially with a large class? (Topic for debate)
Some people love to fantasize during the day time. I have seen them doing it. All of a sudden, they’re with you, then they are not! I’ve watched them hold conversations with themselves, muttering under their breath; Eyes sparkling, as they save their damsel in distress or get whisked away by their Knight in shining armor!
Personally, when I daydream nowadays; I am channeling my dreams into words so I can put them down on paper or into my PC. It all helps me to continue with my thoughts and not only sift through my past, but it puts my past and present into perspective, so I can document and enlarge upon my ideas for the future.
What ever triggers and sparks off the daydreaming sequence, it all seems to be healthy. The mind is a complex and powerful organism that thrives on every microsecond of our lives…Our minds, are our very own personal computers!
When you see that person standing by the coffee machine at work, comatose and lifeless; Or when you see someone at the bus stop, gaping into space as their bus takes off without them; Consider that, whatever our daydreams say about us, we all need a little rebooting from time to time!
