Dream A Little Dream...

Any of you Skirt gals hear of the old adage, (if such an adage really exists), that when you dream of someone it means they are thinking about you?

            Science has yet to prove the theory. It is something that has beleaguered me for about 39 years. Dreams of old beaus can mess with my head for days. Relatives and friends who have passed on visit my dreams. Those experiences can be very disconcerting or very comforting.

            The constant crossroads of what turning 40 represents has left me contemplative. There are a multitude of opportunities, creative opportunities, that are being made available to me, but dammit, I’m so tired especially when I slave at my bread and butter job. These whiny thoughts crawl into bed after me and somehow wriggle into a tapestry that is difficult to decipher.

            The little bit I have done on dream interpretation has proven valuable. Supposedly a conversation with your mother in the dreamscape means you will be receiving news on a long awaited notion. This I can attest to as being true. I dreamt of standing a train platform with my mom chatting vigorously. The next day the list posted outside the art department had my name on it. Three of my pieces had been picked up for a long awaited student show. That was very cool.

            Thanks Mom!

            Then there was the dream about my grandmother, God rest her soul, visiting me in some sort of pseudo tea-party set up. My boss at the time joined us, a gregarious man who appreciated my work. When he rose and left our gathering I turned to Grandma who never utters a word in my dreams and asked her if he could be trusted. She only smiled and shook her head ‘no’. That boss never did anything to harm my place in the office but I never got as gooey close as some of my co-workers did. They summarily saw a side of him that veered on, well, evil.

            Thanks Grandma!

            But the dream last night has spun me out. Somewhere in a desert community, maybe Vegas. A dark expensive Chinese restaurant where all my girlfriends sat at a long plank table discussing the items on the menu, (I wanted grilled cheese. Grilled cheese at a Chinese…oh, never mind, it’s a dream). I sat down, excited for the gathering and found across from me was a Former Friend I cut ties but who still remains close with our mutual friends. In waking life, our friends go to great lengths to keep our contact with each other minimal. In the dream however I stormed off to the bathroom only to find Former Friend in there bogarting the handicap stall and tearing paper towels. My introspection began dominating the dream, brooding how my friends disregarded my feelings and invited this ugly Former Friend to our gathering.

            Which brings me to the point of the blog. It is obvious was Former Friend thinks of me. But I am forced to consider another side of dream interpretation:

 Other people in our dreams are nothing more but reflections of how we view ourselves in our waking life.

            Huh.

            Puts a whole new spin on things when it’s not about other people, in or out of dreams. Dare I take responsibility for the way my life is and how I choose to react? After all, whether it be waking or dreaming, our destiny is left to our own devices.