Two nights ago, following my visit to the foot doctor in Lexington, and stopping to eat broccoli-cheese soup and a pumpkin muffin along with a mango smoothie at Panera in Richmond on the way home, I had a dream, a very vivid dream that I remember very well for the most part. I had also, I should report, taken two Dramamine for the trip and later that evening, two diazepam to help with the sleeping and the itching, along with my regular pain medication. Trips to Lexington are always arduous and tend to knock me out for an evening and a day.
In any case in the dream I was asked to substitute for an art teacher. The classroom was large and there were a number of students present who were not very attentive. I remember losing my temper and yelling at several of them, especially several girls who were giggling and talking near the back of the room. I even swore at the class at one point. The interesting thing though was that I delivered a lecture on art, mystery and manners, using Moby Dick. The point was that Melville/Ishmael has chapters on every aspect of the sperm whale, including the penis, I said, so that we know a great many facts about the physiology of the sperm whale, but that the whale itself remains a mystery. Dissecting the whale will give you facts, but only confronting the living whale on the open ocean will bring you face to face with the essential mystery of the creature. I think Ishmael himself makes that point. Being is a gift and a mystery, meaning that it is essentially unresolvable. To develop the idea a bit beyond the dream, everything that is has being, but only God is Being itself. As God says to Moses in Exodus, tell them “I Am” has sent you. And Jesus affirms it: “Before Abraham was I Am.” That, as I remember, didn’t go over well with certain Israelites.
I hardly ever remember dreams, but this one remains vivid; I could even remember some of the students’ faces, though they have faded significantly now. I don’t know why I chose Moby Dick in the dream though I taught it regularly when in my early years at Berea I taught American Literature. I suppose no one here teaches it anymore. Too bad, for it’s an adventure of a lifetime. For an excellent book on Mystery and Manners though, one of the best sources is Flannery O’Connor’s book of that name. Her essays and insights are excellent, as are her short stories: “Revelation,” “Parker’s Back,” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” etc.
