I’m not a great sleeper these days. Actually I haven’t slept well in a very long time, but that hasn't interfered with my dream life. For as long as I can recall I have had a very active and vivid dream life. All kinds of dreams…the good, the bad and the ugly….you name it I dreamed it! I have had the common dreams of falling and being chased where I normally wake up breathless from all that falling and/or running. Or one of my faves…needing to be able to shoot someone and the bullet just falls out of the gun with no pep, no zip, no speeding towards the intended target. Please, no anti-NRA comments here. I have a right to a gun and if someone is trying to hurt me I reserve the right to use it. I would however like it to work correctly!
As a kid I had a few recurring dreams that looking back must have been due to my fear of something happening to my parents. Often they have partial truths to them. One included my parents going camping on the Arkansas River with several family members---truth. Amy and I were left behind with the grandparents because we were too young—truth, or maybe we were too obnoxious…nah! Anyway the point is that I dreamed my mom cut her hand and no one would help her. Not a band-aid to be had in that camp! Seems silly now but I remember being very concerned about her possibly being hurt and not getting the medical attention she needed at the time.
Bad Dreams and nightmares are not as common as they used to be but I also know the triggers to help avoid them. Scary movies and horror shows are not my friends. They are guaranteed to bring on a bad dream. Actually watching some of today’s crime scene type shows can be enough to let a bad dream slip through. What is up with TV today? The actual news is not much better!
As it happens I took a Human Relations course in college where we dabbled a bit in Dream Analysis and Interpretation. The instructor was very interested in the subject and challenged us to journal our dreams. She did some amateur analysis of those brave enough to share their dreams….that would NOT include me. Some of her theories proved to be true….one of course being that your subconscious can play a role in the dreams that you have.
Not long after dad died I had a dream that he was the only one at home and he told me that he thought it was best that he went on ahead first. Since that time I’ve had several dreams of him. Dreams of him as a younger dad, dreams where he spoke, dreams where he didn’t, dreams of him smiling, dreams of him working around the house and I have cherished each one……until I wake up. An intense ache fills my soul when I finally awake enough to realize it was only a dream. I miss my dad. I miss him terribly. What I would give to have one more moment with him. One more smile, one more hug, one last ‘I love you! That is not to be.
In the meantime I look forward to seeing him in my dreams…..
“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” - Unknown
Yes...
ReplyDelete