Dream catching
I’ve always been fascinated by my dreams. They are often vivid in wildly unrealistic ways. Not only for obvious reasons like when I’m flying, but for the inexplicable inversions of people who appear in the bodies or faces of someone else or for when I jump from one moment in space and time to the next like I’ve been transported, with no discernible transition, and yet it all makes total sense in the dreamworld.
The ones that hit me hardest are the ones where people from my past, or ones who have long since passed from this earth, are so present and engaged that it seems so deeply real.
I’ve heard it said that a realistic encounter or experience with a dead loved one in your dream is a visit from their spirit.
Last week, the friendly neighborhood cat, Bert, a consistent visitor for head scratches, was found in a neighbor’s backyard after a coyote got him. An email went out to all the neighbors because we all knew Bert. He practically belonged to the block because he would visit all the houses, flitting for friendly visits from one home to the next.
I was devastated by the news. I don’t have pets, by choice, so Bert was the perfect surrogate pet. He stopped by long enough to be friendly and never required food or care (other than the aforementioned head scratches). I would often look for him in the mornings, when he was most likely to visit, and many times found him waiting for me to emerge from the house for my morning walk.
A few days later, I had a dream that Bert came to visit, looking healthier and fluffier than normal, and I swear he even smiled at me. I scratched behind his ears for a few minutes, he pranced off, and I couldn’t wait to tell all the neighbors that it had been a mistake and Bert was alive and well. Waking up felt like a second hit of the sad news, but I also felt an odd sense of peace, like Bert himself had assured me that he was happy and well in his new place.
Maybe a dream is just a dream. But maybe, just maybe, it is the way we stay connected to the important beings alive after they’ve gone.
