THE DREAM

I had only one plan for the day: to take a power nap. Well, I did, and I had a dream that changed my life. In the dream, I found myself in the dark, standing in what I imagined to be the very center of a large, empty piece of land. After standing in the same spot for quite a bit of time, I glanced over my right shoulder and something had been added to the scene. I turned and saw a hole in a fence leading to where I was. On the opposite side of the hole was a well-lit street that looked really busy. It explained the gallon of milk in my right hand, and a small black notebook with a rubber band around it, in my left. Infallibly, without a doubt, I knew that I was lost.

I stood in silence for a moment trying to figure out what happened that led me to take this route. Then I turned my head slightly to the right and I saw an old, red, broken-down shed with a barn light hanging at the top underneath the gutter. Sitting closely together on the ground directly underneath the light were two Hound Dogs. The smaller dog was obviously younger and very quiet, but the other charged and barked ferociously at me. I froze until my attention was drawn to the fact that both dogs were chained and under control. Instantly, the wild dog’s bark diminished, and the light over the two dogs shut off.

I looked over my left shoulder and I saw a new image. Down a steep hill was another dog, pacing in front of a storefront. This animal was very aware of my presence, for it continually glanced up at me and stared for a few minutes at a time. Once again, I became scared until the distance between me and this animal was inaudibly pointed out. And just like before, that scenery subsided.

To the very left of me, I saw a fence. Behind the fence was yet another much larger, all black dog. The body of the dog was huge, and his mane was massive as if it had been blown out with a hairdryer. What caught my attention was his environment. He was in the backyard of a nice, pastel green house. The windows on the house had beautiful, white shutters, and the dwelling itself was covered in flawless siding. There were all types of beautiful flowers and garden statues planted throughout the yard. He even had a dog house that emulated the main house. Something just did not sit well with me where this friendly dog was concerned. Although he posed no threat, I was not at all motivated to approach him. As soon as I faced forward again the scene became somewhat dim, but it had not disappeared completely as the others had done. I could still see the dog out of my peripheral vision. He was watching, and he was pacing back and forth behind the fence.

I tried to figure it all out. Then I had a grand idea and a little talk within myself: just turn around and go back through the hole in the fence, walk through the busy town and find your way home. I quickly turned to the right and no hole, no fence, no busy town, no light. I started to cry as I slowly turned back and faced forward again, not knowing how long I would have to stay where I was or what I was going to see next.

With my eyes closed, I stood still and I cried with my head held down. When I opened my eyes I noticed something different. Stars had been added to the sky. With tears streaming down my cheeks I looked up and I cried out, “I’M SCARED. SOMEBODY, PLEASE HELP ME.” No sooner than I cried out, did the star directly above me began to fall straight down out of the sky. The closer it got to the earth, the more my heart paced from the panic on the inside of me. Just as I ducked down and screamed, the star turned into what looked like a young lad that landed on his feet. I stood straight up and he stood directly in front of me. We just stared at each other for a brief moment. He smiled but did not say a word. He looked just like a lawn jockey that had come to life.

I thought this boy was going to harm me but to my surprise, he started walking toward the fence where the friendly dog was still waiting. He beckoned for me to follow him but I was so scared. Then I heard a voice like a whisper say, “follow him,” and immediately I felt a sense of relief like he was there to help instead of hurt. I turned to follow behind him but the closer he got to the fence, things began to get even stranger: first, he changed from a boy dressed like a lawn jockey to a celestial figure that whizzed through the air in the form of some type of stardust; and reached the fence just a pace slower than the speed of light. I stopped in my tracks because it took me a minute to wrap my mind around what I had just seen. Second, part of the fence changed into a huge wall; not a brick wall, but a metal wall. The gate portion of the fence which was the entrance into the yard turned into an enormous, metal door with a gigantic keyhole; like something one would see in a castle. My first thought was, how in the world are we gonna get in? We need a key. I looked at him, and once again he transformed into stardust and disappeared into the keyhole. Before I knew it, the massive door was opened in front of me. Just as I stepped through, he was standing there as a boy again, gesturing for me to come on in behind him.

When I stepped completely through the door I heard it close behind me. I turned to look and there was nothing but the metal wall; no door, no field, not even enough space for me to take a step backward--just wall. Nothing behind that fence was what it had appeared to be. The pastel green house with the perfect siding was an old, nasty-looking, green olive-colored house that looked like it was going to fall off the map. The shutters were black and broken, hanging and ready to let go at any moment. Where the flowers and statues sat from a distance, it had all become garbage and debris. The dog house looked like some type of run-down shack. It didn’t even match the house anymore.

A growling noise grabbed my attention to the left of me and when I looked in that direction, the mutt was leaping at me with his mouth wide open and all of his teeth in position to take a vicious bite. My knee-jerk reaction was to quickly slam the gallon of milk right into his mouth and when I did he fell down. My eyes shifted as I looked for the boy, and when I found him he was waiting and beckoning again. I told him I couldn’t move because the dog was getting up, and the amount of space I had to follow the lad was very tight and very narrow. I was actually between the wall behind me and a fence in front of me and there was no wiggle room. I couldn’t see how I was going to make it through without getting bitten. My friendly companion stuck out his hand as if to grab mine. But just as we touched, I felt a slight pull and the animal attempted to bite me. He got close enough to where I felt the wetness of his cold nose and his warm breath on my leg, and I heard his teeth snap together, but he did not touch me. That is when I glanced back and saw that he too was in the custody of a chain and under full control.

As soon as I made it through the narrowest part of that path I was standing directly in the backyard of the ugly, green house. The boy was still moving forward, but I stopped for a moment and took it all in. The dog was nowhere to be found. Everything in that yard looked wonderful from the other side of the fence and just as the other three scenes, it was all gone.

I also realized that my help was standing a short distance away still waiting for me, and I wanted to get out of there so I proceeded to follow him again. I was exiting the backyard and heading through the driveway toward the street. I was trying to keep my eyes on him but there were a bunch of obstacles in my path. Every time I made it around something, there was another barrier of some sort right after it. So it took me a while to catch up to my rescuer because the driveway was full of challenges that I had to overcome. After I prevailed over all the obstacles and challenges, I saw that the remainder of the pavement was clean and free of hindrances. I also noticed that the sky had become a little bit brighter each time I overcame a deterrent.

I thought I was going to have to find my way out to the street by myself but I looked up and saw my leader waiting on the sidewalk. When we made eye contact, he turned to the right and walked out of my sight. By the time I finally reached the end of the driveway he was nowhere to be found. But because he had gone to the right, I too went right. I did not see him, but this is what I did see: I saw the dawning of a brand new day, a very bright light shining from around the corner which seemed only a short distance away. I knew that whatever that light was, that it was all about me entering into the second half of my life; and it was going to be much better than the first half.

As I walked on, I looked down at my left hand. I had forgotten that I had never let go of the small black notebook. I removed the rubber band, only to realize that it was holding the notebook closed so that the envelope inside would not fall out. It contained a stack of $100 bills with a small note attached that read: You did what you had to do, even if you had to do it afraid. This $20,000 can’t even compare to what’s in store for you. Just continue to follow the light. Once again I turned my attention to what I saw ahead. I focused on the light at the corner, and I was not going to allow anything or anybody to stop me from getting to it.

I gained so much understanding about my life from that one dream. I awoke feeling fantastic. I knew exactly what I needed to do: I had to seek help as needed so that I could confront all of the issues in my life head-on. I also had to go to the bank and get the small black notebook and its contents from the safe deposit box, where my mom had left it for me before she passed away. To my surprise, there was exactly $20,000 tucked away in the center of the notebook. Who cares if the note wasn’t there? The one I read in the dream spoke volumes. I had only one plan for the day: to take a power nap.