miller's crossing

tulip shoots next to house

Let's seem how well I can do this.... I had a dream this morning in which I was reading a long magazine article written by a woman who is older than me. It was very good and I was enjoying it a lot, although I can't now remember much what it was about. But I remember this: I came to a part in the article where she returns to where she went to college, which happens to also be where I went to college, to learn something about herself.

I thought, "How can she learn anything about who she was from students now so much younger than her and so different. The school is different -- new teachers and buildings. What kind of insight could that offer her?"

For the article, she had been given some very clever and funny pictures/cartoons that had been drawn by current students about their experiences living with each other, studying, etc. I was excited about them because they looked so familiar to me, like she had found things from when I was in school. And it occured to me that part of the search for current identity is an affirmation that the person you were in the past had qualities that were good and that you want to keep or rediscover -- in this case: creativity, cleverness, a sense of humor and a willingness to put it down on paper and share it.

How much of dreams are about oneself? All? ... The idea of reading an article written by an older version of myself looking to discover something from a younger version of myself can be taken in different directions that I'll skip over here. The idea of revealing and holding a more innocent creativity and perspective and working with it as a more mature being is what I'm getting out of the dream.

What's been tucked away in corners and boxes over the years? Anything useful? Beneficial? It's like in the labyrinth turning back to someplace very close to where you were a while ago, but yet not the same place. You're further along the path, but you have an opportunity to revisit a view, a feeling, a location.

So, I guess this is what I'm up too. I will do my best to make the most of it.