I was at a meeting of investors and venture capitalists who were concerned about the declining scope of intellectual property rights. Several examples were being raised. The discussion turned to a recent Federal Circuit Court case in which a drug related to ibuprofen was found to be obvious and unpatentable relative to ibuprofen itself (this was a fake dream case, with details apparently drawn from a recent case on a gene patent). I volunteered some technical details that helped the group better understand the case and the regrettable loss of property rights that may have occurred, when a friend of mine, an atheist scientist in real life who was and still is an important mentor and ally, stood and explained to the group that an article written about this case had transformed his life and helped him see how foolish it is to focus on material things, and that there are much more important higher values we must pursue. He was really choked up by the insights he had obtained. He asked for a break to retrieve the article that began his transformation so he could share it with us, and I needed to look up some more info on the case.
I went to a computer, got some information about the chemistry involved, and then sought out my friend (I really was looking at ibuprofen chemistry this week). I saw him at the end of a large public park at the bottom of a hill where I stood. I started running, delighted with how much faster and athletic I tend to be in dreams (better looking, too). As I ran into the park, I had to watch out for all the kids and adults enjoying themselves, running around and playing games. A girl tossed a basketball that might have hit someone, I worried, so I caught it while running and set it down gently with a smile. Had to dodge a family opening an umbrella. Then I saw a woman with a little shop selling food and other items. She was in front of the shop and was walking back toward it when a child came zooming by on a bike. She had to leap to avoid a collision and was remarkably agile. She had a white hat, long brown hair, and a white glove – this may have been an attempted Michael Jackson sighting by my dream engine. As I ran by I complimented her: “Wow, that was good. You’re very quick on your feet!” Her response, referring to the frenetic activity of all the people in the park, surprised me: “Oh, with this going on all day long, you have to be. But isn’t it wonderful?”
Then a strange and delightful feeling swept over me. In this park were a thousand people of all kinds and ages, cheerfully pursuing a thousand different directions, and yet I could feel that we were all connected, all tied to each other, all part of each other’s joy. And it was simply wonderful. Wealth, power, prestige, and even patents didn’t matter. It was the joy of love and of being that did.
That’s when I stepped on the skateboard . . . wait, that’s tomorrow’s dream. Mine ended with happiness. Never saw the article my friend wanted to read to me. Maybe tomorrow.
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