I walked into the entry corridor of a large, tall building (think Boston Science Museum, if you’re ever been there). As I walked, I noticed how light I felt and that I was almost floating off of the ground. “Like being in water,” I thought. And I remembered that there was a swimming pool on top of this corridor and wondered if I could swim up to it. So, I started swimming. The bottom of the corridor was very warm, but the air/water around me got cooler and cooler as I swam up, until it was indeed very cold by the top. And when I reached the top, I felt anger, because the swimming pool was covered, I was cold, and the water I’d had no trouble breathing before suddenly didn’t seem as breathable. So I punched out at the cover and managed to push it aside. As soon as I did so, I was covered in light and it seemed that there was nothing at all between me and the sky. The light warmed me and the beauty overwhelmed me.
When I returned to the “floor” below, I left the corridor and proceeded into the building. It was a school that taught all species all kinds of subjects. I overheard an art teacher talk about the struggles he was having with some of his animal students. I suggested to him that the four students did as I did: swim up to the surface of the pool, that the light would inspire them to greater creativity. He followed my suggestion and the students did as I suggested.
Moments later, the teacher was furious at me: two of his students had committed suicide upon reaching the top of the water. With sadness, I realized they must have thought the darkness and the cold was all that was there, that they had not breached the cover to bathe in the light.