Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Practicing For Death

This morning I had a strange and clear dream. My father had died and a friend told me to call up a person at random and tell that person about his death as practice for when I have to call people I know. I dialed a number and asked for Julie.  Julie came to the phone. I told her that my father had died and she responded with great sympathy. Her voice was so distinctive and full of compassion that I felt as if I knew her. Yet, I had never in waking life heard her voice. I told her the funeral would be the next day and I asked her to come to it. She said she would. I hung up and then remembered that I hadn't given her a time or place for the funeral. 

I woke up wondering why it seems to be easier for strangers to be compassionate than our own families when it comes to the death of a loved one.  I know so many people, including myself, who have lost relationships with brothers and sisters when a parent died......  It made me sad to think of the old wounds but also encouraged me because strangers have been so loving to me through this blog.  Thank you......

8 comments:

  1. Hi Patricia,
    A strange dream, indeed. Your insights are thought-provoking. I know nothing about interpreting dreams (in fact I rarely remember my own!) but it is interesting. Thanks for sharing.
    Karen in VA

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  2. Hi Karen, Thank you for your comment. I rarely remember my dreams so this one stood out for me. I am glad you found it thought-provoking. Patricia

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  3. What an astonishing dream. So clear and precise. Why do we dream of places we've never been, and with people we've never met in real life -- and so vividly? Is it memory DNA that's been past on? Is it really that we are being communicated to from another plane? All my dreams take place in buildings and places that I know I've never been. And I'm frequently associating with someone I know I've never met. I'm sure that my father's recent death was the impetus for your dream, but the details involved with a person you don't know in real life... where does that come from? Thanks for sharing, Patricia. XO - Love, your friend Leslie

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  4. Thank you for your insights Leslie. Yes, I am sure your father's death triggered my dream. Your grief tapped into my own grief. It is always there, in some deep part of my soul even though my father has been gone almost fifty years... Thank you for writing. Love,P

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  5. That is just so weird!!

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  6. Well, dreams are weird..... but if you look at them as symbols, you can find a lot of insight into things. P

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  7. Lovely dream. I hope it was comforting to you as it was to me. Yes, strangers can be so kind. I love that.

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  8. Hi Sarah, Thank you for commenting. I always appreciate hearing from you. Patricia

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