i am conscious of the sensation of slowly falling, tumbling from my nice secure existence, and descending further and further away. the breeze that gently plucked at my clothing to start me off on this incredible flight is now catching me in its warm heart, and bearing me softly down, away from my narrow-mindedness and responsibilities. i rotate slowly as i fall, pushing my way through the air as i would an impossibly thick rolling cloud of rising smoke, it buoying me up almost as fast as i descend. the air, however, is for the most part perfectly clear, only giving way to hazy patches here and there which leave little tendrils of condensation clinging to my arms, trailing out behind me in my wake. i can perceive no light source, but light pervades everything, saturating my body inside and out. there is no ground yet to my transitory world, and i exult in the freedom of my existence, without giving thought to the uncertainty of my future. as i spin lazily downwards, i can feel my self expanding and opening out, stretching wings and flexing muscles. my being is noticeably more rounded, it has lost the jagged edges it had before, and i feel good about this change. music soothes my soul, spooling outwards in strands like wool spun from the wispy edges of clouds, and i smile the smile of deep fundamental happiness which cannot be stopped. i occasionally sail past other poor souls on their way up, and the blindness in them makes me cry fat pearls which float alongside me until i push my finger through them, making them explode into millions of infinitesimally small shards. i want this happy limbo to cradle me forever, but all too soon i near the world of reality again. i smell it before i see it, that sooty smell which you don't notice until you leave, and then the great map looms up below me, rotten and smoky. i close my eyes, feel the healing power of my new perspective running through me afresh, and open them again to see the same world, but all i can see is flowers stretching across continents, billions of blossoms reaching from shore to shore, and my heart leaps at the sight. the speed of my descent quickens, doubtless under the influence of gravity, and continues to quicken, rapidly propelling me towards this ocean of petals, until all the amazing colours coalesce into one unbearably beautiful ... possibility, stretched out below me. and into this indescribable well of magic my soul is thrown, like a bullet from a gun.
