A bird dreamed he was a person who lived in a beautiful palace.

In this dream, he would roam the corridors of his mansion, proud of all that he had built. His fortress of security and strength protected him from the dangers of the outside world. In the dream, time started to move faster. Years passed in seconds and eventually the bird dreamed that as a person, he died. He dreamed that the palace, left unattended for months then years, then decades, eventually crumbled… ground back into the earth by the relentless cycles of wind and rain.

Free of the palace walls, the awareness of the dreamer looked out into the world. He imagined that the mansion had been but a tiny cage. The harmony of the stars, the sun, the moon and the planets were all acting in concert to make the world a garden. He saw the true palace was really the universe in which the temporary little mansion had been built.

When the little bird woke up, the dream of being a person soon started to fade. He sang a bright cheerful song, simply glad to be a bird again.

He spread his wings and jumped out into the sky. He flew out into a world of impossible beauty. A world that was bursting with variety and self expression. Despite the danger of serpents… the garden was full of gifts.

After singing many bright songs and flying to many extraordinary places, the little bird died.

Just then… the garden woke up from its dream of being a little bird.