Dreams within dreams

Last night I had a dream and it went something like this...

In my dream, I was waking up and getting out of bed. As I glanced down to slip my socks on over my feet, I was completely and utterly amazed to find a swaddled baby staring up at me. I promptly lifted the baby up to my shoulder, and began patting and cooing to the infant.

Much to my surprise, the baby began to purr.

In the blink of an eye, the dream shifted and I awoke again to find Don Gato, the family cat, purring contentedly in my arms.

Only, I wasn't really awake. I was dreaming in a dream.

Moments later, when I was well and truly awake, I found myself completely captivated by the whole experience. I don't think I have ever dreamed a dream within a dream. Forget about the whole baby-at-my-feet-morphing-into-a-purring-cat thing, which was weird enough, I was dreaming within a dream.

It was such a beautiful experience. It really was.

You see, I am convinced that there really are realities within realities and dreams within dreams. I am convinced that this life has depth and layers that beg our exploration.

The sad thing is, I sometimes forget what I know to be true and I slip into a soul numbing way of living upon the surface of my own life.

Last night's dream within a dream was such a lovely and gentle reminder to live deep, and to love deeper still.

I would hate to become like some dreamer stuck sleepwalking through the entirety of their own life's story.

I couldn't bear that.

Could you?