INTROSPECTION

Neverland

Ever wondered how dreaming of an immaculate, evil-free world is like? Remember 'The City of Townsville', the perfect little town, that is always saved at the end of the day by the three super girls? Or, the much modernised version of a non-existent world, The Jetsons, where evil never trespasses?

Knowing no such world exists where perfection prevails and imperfection does not, we build our own fantastical utopias and become its residents. I think there must be some logic behind daydreaming, some reason why  people around the globe are amused by movies entirely secluded from reality.

In an unpredictable world like this, where people watch days go by, seasons change, loved ones pass away and the innocents being killed, people want to hallucinate deliberately. To be more precise, they want to  live in a world where nothing is as cruel as their real life.

One time or another, we fantasise a world segregated from the chaotic entities of the present one. In doing so, we conjure up a place consistent with our own wishes and desires.

We ideate it in to a panorama of peace, joy and goodness, discarding evil from the idyllic picture. But, here comes yet another question: ‘how?’ That is, how do we fantasise and distract ourselves from the flagrant reality?

Being a Psychology major for the past three years, I believe that fantasising is a kind of therapy. We have these seven defense mechanisms in our body which activate when things get ragged. One of them is 'repression', wherein we repress or suppress something undesirable. That could be a painful memory of any incident or any event that could trigger the feelings of guilt and pain.

To flee from such aversive feelings, people distract themselves through fantasising. And as soon as one realises things could not get any better, an imaginary Neverland comes in to existence.

And how could one possibly fantasise?

By thinking a lot. By writing a lot.  Distractions, for one, are always worthy of deviating one from the bitter reality of life to the peaceful monumental imagination.

However, you need to visualise. Neverland is a place oozing with goodness, a place with abundance of greenery and dew-filled leaves. It is a place where birds start chirping as the first ray of sun reaches the land; a place where fire, dust, water and snow together make peace. It is a place full of optimism, generosity and affection for the mankind.

Every broken heart gives way to a fresh piece of fiction. Be it an animated movie, a TV series or a stack of books based entirely on fictitious scenarios - people often relive in these stories where they could relish the imaginary rather than abhorring the materiality.

The point is fantasising helps you recover from the bad you have been going through. It plucks you out of the dreadful trance you have been in for a while, transforming your woes and worries into something worth dreaming about.

In this hurried life, fly once in a while to Neverland.