I’ve been doing this a long time, dreaming that is LOL!!! Yes, I’m still here. Anyhoooo, dreaming on the closed-eye and opened-eye sides, and interpreting dreams. Some are easier than others, while some I’m still waiting for the understanding. Several dreams I’ve had again and again for over 30 years and I’m just now getting the complete understanding of them, which have resulted in life-changes galore. Wow!!! For within the dreams lay answers to many questions I am not always able to answer in real-time day time.
In my most recent dream I was with some high school class mates who were glad to see me after 20+ years, and “as usual” we went to our lockers (for what I don’t know, for we’re adults now) and when I arrived at mine I had been occupying two lockers. (I didn’t know this was even possible, even in the dream world. LOL!) The locks had been “broken” and removed from one and left hanging on the other, and a note left on one instructing me to empty one of its contents, for each student could have only one locker. Inside my locker were all kinds of vegetables that I love, artichokes, broccoli, and other green veggies, and they were still good. None of them, even though they were not in a refrigerator, had spoiled. Yet because I had nowhere to store them I had to throw them away. There were only one or two types of uncooked meat and even they had not spoiled, but I had to throw them away too.
Yet within the large gymnasium-like room was an atmosphere of celebration and I seemed to be the center of it all, so it was difficult for me to be angry that my locker had been opened and exposed to possible theft (which did cross my mind). Many of my friendly classmates surrounded me and helped me discard these things from my locker. (Yes, that is to imply that not all of my classmates were friendly.) Other things happened in the dream which are significant to me, but this part concerns this message of “letting go”.
When I interpret dreams I first write down all the elements in the dream: people, colors, environment – how it feels, looks, what kind of space and lighting, the people, dialogs, clothing if they for some reason become a focus. Emotions and thoughts also are important for they reveal a lot. Daytime or nighttime, clock time if there’s a clock. The races of people, genders, old and young, etc. Then I consult different dreams “experts” through books, and even friends who understand dreams, to put everything together.
The veggies in this dream had to be discarded even though they were still good, as well as the meat (which I did not know what kind it was, btw.) and I recall wondering "why"?, and “couldn’t we put them in a refrigerator somewhere”?. But that was not possible in that setting. So I consulted one of my dreams books and it says that vegetables represent memories. Wow!! Yes. Hmmm, veggies are nutritious too, but sometimes we need to be eating something else? According to the wisest man who ever lived “there’s a time for everything under the sun . . . a time to do this and a time to refrain from doing that” (whatever “this” and “that” may be). (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) But I took something else from this, more important to me than physical nutrition in a dream.
Sometimes memories, whether good or bad, must be released, for they can hinder forward progress. It’s easy to see the reason for letting go of painful and negative memories, but positive ones – good veggies in the garbage pail? C’est pas vraie!!! Oui mais, yes. Needless to say, I had to stop for a while and think about this one. Then I opened the greatest Book of all books to the 11th chapter of the Old Testament account of Numbers. The Israelites were in the wilderness by now and they were hungry. Oh, and they started complaining that God’s cuisine wasn’t French enough for them, for they wanted the veggies of Egypt (I just melanged two countries didn’t I, or maybe three.) (verses 1-10). Verses 4-6 read, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”
Ooooh talk about biting the Hand that feeds you. And yes, like any normal parent, they rubbed God the wrong way and He dealt with them strongly. They complained in the transition of moving from slavery to a land of the free and the home of the brave!!! Okay, you can read the rest for yourself, but you get the picture right? They seemed to have a short memory of the slavery they had endured for 200 years!!!! My how a hungry stomach can move one to make ignoramus decisions. (Remember brother Esau in Genesis? Must have been some good soup.) Good grief. (But I’m not judging them for in them I see myself too.) Also they just forgot about the great rescue coming through the Red Sea on dry land and watching those same Egyptians who enslaved them and their parents and grandparents, drown in waters none of them were supposed to cross. Yet they did. Short memories? Bad memories? Remembering the wrong things? Selective memories? Alzheimers, dementia, bi-polar? Yes, maybe all of the above.
Many times we wonder why we cannot seem to go forward towards our dreams and purpose for living, and it’s largely due to our past. The significance we attach to certain people and events, positive or negative, but in these examples it is the positive that’s causing the problems, not the negative. I have a great friend who was struggling to stand and walk like the Nubian princess she is in a pair of old well-worn gold shoes. She looked good from head to ankle and received so many compliments from strangers passing by the five hours we spent together. Needless to say I wanted to bless her with a new pair of shoes because of the transition of the seasons, and because those shoes had lost whatever they had when she and they first met.
When she finally put on the new shoes I took the old ones to throw away, but she would not let me. After much tug of war between us she confessed that they held special memories for her and I said “aah, so memories are strong enough to keep you limping and walking on the sides of your knees” (I am exaggerating, but not too much). So she said she would keep them to walk around the house. I told her to say her goodbyes and give them a funeral, but I knew she had to do it her own way and in her own time, for she would have to discard more than just the shoes.
We all have “things” from our past that we thought would last, and we wish had never ended, so we hold onto photos, videos, letters, leaves and flower petals, books, music, clothing and shoes we can no longer wear, etc. because they allow us to relive the past. But how can we move forward; driving while looking through the rearview mirror? Ce n’est pas possible.
My next step was to accept the freedom from the One who broke the locks on my lockers to help me realize I no longer needed the contents within. Even though they were still edible. Hmmmm, that’s part of the difficult part. As long as there is life in those memories and things, we don’t see the need in letting them go. But think of it this way, when you give away clothing and shoes, do you give away items that have outlived their usefulness for everyone, or items that you’ve “outgrown” (no pun intended, but if you want to take it that way, comme tu veut. ;-))? No one wants things you DON’T want, for where is the value in that? You don’t want things others don’t want either. The beauty in gift-giving, whether new items with the price tag still on them, or used ones still full of life, is the value they are to the giver. The recipient is more likely to appreciate your gift when your desire for it is still attached to it. Test this theory: when you’re wearing your favorite necklace or bracelet and a friend, or new stranger-friend meets you and sees it and just seems to want it, and you know inside you never planned to give it away, for it is your favorite. All of a sudden you see the value it has for you, again. See what I mean. People want what you want.
How does this relate to me letting go of the veggies in the dream? No one would have wanted spoiled veggies, and I certainly am not one for wasting good food, yet I had outgrown these veggies (memories) and no longer needed to share them with others. Some things are not meant to be passed on. Just let go. Even when/if they still have “life”. Who wouldn’t want to remain in a good place like a great rocking chair or lazy boy recliner? It’s comfortable with a great view, but it goes nowhere. Good memories are like great chairs. You can move in them, but you will never go anywhere. (Unless you’re Chevy Chase’s aunt in the movie “Vacation.”) ;-)
What do you need to let go of at this point in time? I know it’s not always easy, but when moving to the next phase becomes more important to you than feasting on the “food” of your past, you will either thrust "them" out of your “space”, or run away from them as fast as you can. Peace.
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