Dear Readers,
“Teacher… why do we dream?”
I froze.
Me? A grown-up, supposedly wise, with degrees and books stacked taller than me…
…and a five-year-old just asked me the kind of question that makes you question everything you know about life.
I straightened my notes, tried to breathe, and launched into my masterclass:
“Dreams come from the subconscious… the cerebellum… the emotional wiring… psychological effects… religious symbolism… intuition… myths…”I was throwing all the heavy words like confetti at a party. I expected gasps. Maybe awe. Possibly a polite “Thank you, teacher.”
He listened. Not blinking. Not interrupting. Not fidgeting.
I swear, I could see his tiny brain taking notes like he was running his own TED Talk.
Finally, I paused for effect. And then it happened.
He tilted his head, looked straight at me, and said, slow and serious:
“So… no matter what psychologists say, no matter what Bhagwan Krishna explains, no matter how the brain doctor wires it… it was my fear. I lied to my mama. My guilty conscience made my brain give me shocks and create nightmares.”
Mic drop.
Cue: Teacher frozen. Brain rebooting. Ego bruised.
Student? Calm. Already moving on to playtime.
I realised then:
We adults spend lifetimes complicating things.
Children? They just feel it. Name it. Understand it. Move on.
Some dreams aren’t about science.
Some aren’t about mythology.
Some are just your own heart trying to speak, loudly, painfully, honestly.
And sometimes… a five-year-old teaches you more than all the books in the world.
— Little Questions, Loud Thoughts
~ Divyadeep Kaur Arora
M.A. (Education) | TESOL Certified ESL Teacher | Diploma in Teaching Education