Timescapes of a Giant, by John Ghazzawi

Dear Friends,

Here’s another dream i’d like to share. i hope you enjoy!.

“Timescapes of a Giant”
a slightly longer short story,
written by John Ghazzawi

The City, with her panorama so dazzling. architecture ambitious, grand and imposing. culture as diverse as her people from around the world that flock here to live, work and play. reveling in her endless pleasures, hypnotic entertainment and flashy trinkets. a city so proudly displayed as our grand achievement, our triumph over the elements. perfect in our eyes after generations of conditioning and practice manufacturing landscapes. it’s amazing, quite the work no doubt!

yet most so grey and dull. hard and ridged. so loud, unnecessarily crowded and busy. so unforgiving to some. so blatantly heartless to others..

ah! so harsh to those who dare question her command for servitude and governance. only the ones fully entranced by the glare of her shining promises of riches, grandeur and decadence with have true fulfillment. i’m told…

aye! for those who fall whole hearted for her irresistible lure. her offers of comfort and community. her pledge of protection and providence. beware! for she holds the power of medusa’s gaze. the ability turn her innocent unsuspecting citizens into stone. cold and unconscious like a machine. few are able to resist her temptation…
.
… I’m screwed !!

I think to myself as i make my way steadily through the big city. traversing smokey streets of asphalt laden with stressed pedestrians. highways gridlocked, congested and almost cobbled. eroded by years of abuse from blustery canadian winters and ever changing seasons.

then i suddenly hear the sound of a loud ‘HONK’ coming from another eager commuter’s vehicle. this one is swiftly making his way through traffic, as he proceeds to cut off a car recklessly. coming from another vehicle i hear, “fuck you asshole!” as a fellow commuter shares a piece of his mind. i notice the other guy has his hand out the window. holding up a finger. just one finger.. the middle one.

I laugh to myself as my thoughts a moment earlier seemingly align with reality. “what a day .. Happy Friday!” i say to myself after dealing with another hectic week of sales meetings, presentations, emails and phone calls.

my anticipation turns ecstatic as thoughts of a weekend of outdoor activities ahead takes shape. my route immaculately planned. gear neatly packed already. just missing the canoe! methodically going over everything in my head. fond thoughts of immersing myself in nature quickly prevail. oh glorious nature! so soft, with her pleasing vistas and delightful tones, enticing glowing reflections in my imagination. rendering feelings of calm to my body and peace in my mind. “I miss her”, i say to myself as my thoughts concur with my heart, zoning out of the crazy rat race happening around me.

arriving home, i look at the clock. “OK! still got a few hours of light. you can make it, get it done john boy!”, confident affirming thoughts fill my mind as i load only the ‘essential’ gear into the car. shocks weighted heavily… creaking, as i play a awkward game of tetris with the things in my vehicle.

I find myself on the road shortly after. excited by the chance of new adventures awaiting. hidden in the secret places of the land between.

Finally, I pull off onto an old logging road. dusty and graveled, winding through undulating rock barrens spotted with stands quaking aspens and eastern white pines. “yeah man, i love this'”, i say proudly aloud as i get ready for a bit of a hike.

walking through a land dashed with meadows of wild flowers, painted with hues of vivid blues and violet. vibrant yellows and earthing shades of green. ancient lands with decades old growth of lichen embracing proud tamaracks lovingly. the birds singing in jubilee, thankful for another beautiful day graced upon these shining waters. i reach the small lake I’ve decided to camp for the weekend and start my paddle in solitude. the veil of night falls quickly and softly over the misty waters as each paddle stoke brings me silently closer to my campsite.

voila! the sun fading now as i unpack, setup my tent and brew a cup of tea made from a mix of pine needles and winter green leaves foraged on my hike. “this is SUPER”, i say, with a grateful tone in my voice as i watch the stars glitter above me like butterflies from distant galaxies. the sky clear, dark and vast, perfect for star gazing. a fantastic view of the whole milky way! i’m totally sleeping with the tent fly off tonight i decide.

shortly after i’m settling into my sleeping bag. tent carefully nestled among the lush grass and mossy knolls, in a small clearing. something catches my attention, i stop suddenly! listen for a moment…… the forest is dead quite! … “what happened to the crickets?!”… dozens that filled the evening forest with their lively ‘chirps’ just a minute earlier. I can hear some in the distance, but total silence around me. unnerved, i quickly realize that I’ve experienced the same thing before and wonder if i’m really alone out here… “hey … you there?”. i say to a silent, still, mysterious forest. laying in my tent eagerly awaiting a response. looking through the mesh tent, senses tuned into any discernible sound or movement. nothing … motionless … silence.

my mind wonders to other thoughts and i find myself slowly drifting to sleep a few minutes later. focusing on my breathing, the words of my mind settle. body tired and increasingly restful after a day well spent. laying on my back, eyes closing. one of my quietening thoughts stands out and says

.. “sleep brother, we teach you now”..

then my whole body starts ‘buzzing’ emphatically with visceral vibrations. a feeling of an inaudible tune being blasted through me by a large sub woofer. instantly! i find myself in a completely foreign state of awareness. on the forest floor, laying in my tent just as i was a second earlier. but now in an ultra vivid state of perception. my eyes wide! Shocked! as i observe everything silhouetted in an outline of shimmering white light. my senses enthralled as i’m introduced to an unbelievably rich world of extra ordinary awareness. with an enriching feeling of overwhelming connection and timelessness. a state of unimaginable sensations that instantly sends me into euphoria.

as get up and look around.. the trees, plants, rocks, my body, everything has this brilliant auric outline. seemingly an endless light that flows through all things permeating animate and inanimate objects alike. blending in beaming wisps of soft interconnected fibers and gently radiating plasma swirls. a divine eternal light that touches the material and immaterial, the finite and infinite with its exquisite shine. beautiful inter fusing energy that blends everything together. yet in this state, still quite easy to distinguish my surroundings. blissfully observing this new world in wonder and complete ecstasy.

suddenly. i start hearing rustling coming from the dark, dense woods behind my tent. ‘snap’, ‘crunch’, ‘thud’, ‘thud’. attentively listening to the sound of something large pushing its way towards me through the thick woods, tickled by an outline of unstained sparkling white light. then i observe an orb of light slowly emerging from the mosaic of trunks, limbs, bows and branches. a brilliant orb! effervescent, almost carbonated energy flowing tightly in a spherical basin of graceful love light.

as it slowly enters the clearing i’m standing in. it stops ten feet away, hovering just above eye level. looking into infinity through the middle of this orb i find the ultra real state i’m immersed in slowly start to fade around me. the shimmering aura of light shining brightly from everything dims, as i see the dark silhouette of things subtly and slowly become prevalent. i gradually enter a familiar lucid dream state.

the orb starts to decrease it’s intensity and dissipate into itself. simultaneously, as it does the sharp shadow of large man takes its place and comes into view. the orb disappearing in his chest. this large almost tangible shadow casually solidifies. i see the big man come into full view, then focus.

a patient teacher, a loving ally. his eyes glowing a bold yellow. piercing and ablaze with soul fire !! yet kind eyes, with the wisdom of ages and the sights of a thousand men held within. the grey skin of his large hairy face toughened and wrinkled by decades of weathering natures seasons gallantly. a huge and powerful beast of a man! hairy and barbaric in our eyes, uncivilized by our classification. a wild man that knows not of boundaries or governance. albeit, a conscious free man that knows well the lands between. landscapes so unfamiliar to us now. landscapes adsorbed in eternity. Timescapes of a Giant.

“Brother!!”, i shout smiling intently as my heart pulses in joy.

his wide mouth swiftly burnishes large flat, slightly yellowed teeth appearing in a familiar and friendly smile.

“you understand now?” he asks, with still lips. in a stern but loving voice spoken in broken english. words that didn’t come from his mouth. words spoken clearly in my mind and felt in every cell of my body. words that carry an unbelievable amount of emotion. able to feel every word in an amalgam of total mindfulness.

“yes, i think so… my god that was amazing!!” i proclaim looking at him like a child in awe after seeing his first magic trick. my mind trying to comprehend the same holistic understanding i have in my heart.

“that’s spirit”, i remark quietly, still in complete admiration of the divine world i was just immersed in …

he smiles, as he sits straight down in a cross legged position on the ground.

i follow sitting on the ground across from him. curiously, i ask “was that another dimension?”.

“all is one” … “our people can see this”, he answers.

“WOW, that’s crazy!”, i respond…my face holding a spirited, amazed expression.

already knowing my next question in advance he states, “our people can do this quickly”… “one breathe”. i ponder momentarily.

“The breathe of that beautiful light..?” i respectfully ask…

“yes”, he replies with a gentle, fatherly look as his eyes gleam with the wisdom of affection

“we want to help your people remember”, he asserts with a look of benevolence.

“thank you” i reply to him, while i place my hand on my heart in appreciation for his help. such a deep felt gratitude for a loyal allie. the enduring emotions of his words gives me a feeling of great thankfulness.

“disappear fear, with light in heart”… he affirms, with a stern alert look expressed on his ancient face.

… “your people choose fear”…

“listen to heart, act with heart” ..

“your people must remember soon” …

“we help them choose heart”

“stay strong. shine. we love you”….

he smiles. then with one breathe disappears on the spot !!

“go play now”, i hear, as i instantly find myself in the form of a brilliant light orb!!

briefly looking down at my sleeping body tucked into my tent, i begin to zoom swiftly upward, as light as a feather! boundless, able to traverse strange vast lands and great pacific waters of other worlds. travelling through space across vase nebula. a vivid reality composed of unknown colors that are bold and vibrant with visceral textures and sensations felt wholly. time dissolves as it’s boundaries are not consciously definable. everything is animate, alive and connected with the life of spirit. moons, planets, stars, solar systems. even whole galaxies can’t resist the touch of this eternal love light. a spirit that pervades and interpenetrates everything, through light years and eons. kissing it exquisitely with surreptitious eternity.

after a seemingly endless amount time i notice a thin string affixed. silky and white. a tether of light transcending time and space. a delicate ribbon of light connecting my orb essence, linking my physical body now millions of light years away, in another epoch.

I have a sudden urge to go back. immediately! i find myself hovering about a hundred feet above camp. gliding downward as i’m returning to my body. i see the big man standing beside my tent. as i approach he turns and walks off into the misty forest blanketed in a cover of crisp morning dew drops.

taking the few last steps before entering the tree line, he quickly turns semi translucent. every part his hairy body shimmering with light. striking a delicate balance between reflection and refraction. quite similar to the cloaking abilities of ‘predator’ in those movies, but with much more ‘detail’. i think could only see him because of this dream state. faintly glimmering and shining as he took cover behind a thick juniper bush in the nearby treeline.

I wake up suddenly! all parts of me ALIVE! laying in my tent ‘buzzing’ electrically from head to toe with vibrations. vigorous ones that shake your insides! my eyes tearing profusely as teardrops leave laces of saline on my face. in awe and thorough admiration after receiving experiences beyond imagination. bestowing an emotional understanding that resonates over lifetimes.

i look around and see the large juniper bush observed while entering my body a minute earlier. I get up, out of my tent. “brother, thank you”, even before my words are released from my mouth i hear ” SNAP!” from behind the juniper bush the sound of a large stick breaking echos through the early morning forest.

“such a subtle yet definite approach, i like your style”, i say jokingly aloud. the forest now ringing with the lovely songs of birds as they politely welcome the dawning sun. my mind gifted the opportunity to doubt all this… a kind doubt that eases irrational fears trying to condense in my imagination.

I smile, and say “i love you”. immediately following i feel a rush of energy reverberating through my whole body. goosebumps and shivers felt so completely. so affectionately. oscillating my soul. i then hear the sound of ‘something’ large walking away through the thick bush. eyes wide! as i observe over top of the large juniper bush. shaking and swaying, as small trees and saplings give way to ‘something’ walking through the glistening morning forest, now receiving rays of sunbeams.

“WOW … totally wild!” … my mind trying to comprehend this whole experience … a bewildered mind, frozen and flabbergasted …

“what the hell was in that tea last night …?!”, i jokingly question, shaking my head. “HOLY MOLY” i say, quickly becoming completely reabsorbed in the vivid recollection of this experience. the urgency and alertness of his profound words fill my mind. the lament of these words touching me so deeply, so truly. dauntless words of from a wise man of the woods.

As i consistently contemplate, the morning sun reaches its zenith. i have great regret for the path we are choosing. with our war machines and frivolous fighting. divisive economic system that pits us against each other endlessly. a distracted and submissive population, increasingly over worked and under privileged. our ever expanding cities and subdivisions. sprawling, evasive and unbalanced. unfortunately all too familiar now to the flora and fauna, long forgotten friends we’ve renamed ‘weeds’ and ‘pests’.

The royal stands of old trees turned into lumber and light posts, treated with harsh chemicals so that no life grows. meadows lay bare and desolate, void of color. tributaries stagnate and muddy. their clear flowing waters tainted by decades of careless industrial and agricultural spoilage … “what are we doing?” I ask myself questioningly, wholeheartedly yearning for a stop to this madness

… “we lost the plot” …

We’ve forgotten our hearts. a vow of respect to ALL life. an age old pledge to coexist in peace. we’ve forgotten our promise to honor nature and her spirits. keeping her wild and untouched, as our ancestors did for these generations.

There are still wild places! places where the big trees are still king. places where plants and animals are respected as our brothers and sisters. wild places that ask us to act with a character worthy of our otter appearance. places that beckon inner calls of empathy and compassion. places where true fulfillment still exists, in the heart. these are scared places we Thankfully haven’t turned to stone.

The choice is Ours.

Love to You.

most sincerely,

Text and art work by John Ghazzawi