Thursday's Translation

A couple of weeks ago or so I told you about a dream I had. I sent an email to a friend, who I have not talked to in quite a while, to see what he thought the dream might mean and this is the interpretation he came up with. Sounds very interesting? I will recap with the dream then his translation.

Woke up this morning after having a dream about John. I went to visit him at the hospital (but it was not St. B). When I got there he was standing up and ready to go. I gave him a hug saying something like "It is so good to see you". He was still in some pain though when I hugged him. I was amazed he was out of bed, and looking ready to go for a walk. He pointed out that they were "redecorating" at the hospital with a whole bunch of different color stones (pink and blue - look like bubble gum) different shapes and sizes, and even giant oreo cookies. We went down a set of stairs and I was thinking it is so great that John is a cancer survivor. Then we were going down a ramp and John slid down, and as we were going down we saw Fr. Stan and he had quite a surprise look on his face also. They hugged and he said either "should you be here or should you be out" and John said Leon (whoever that is) said it was okay. Then I woke up...extremely disappointed because it seemed so real that John was alive and doing so well. Just thought I would share this as I rarely dream.


Perhaps there is a measure of simply missing John in the dream but I really don’t think it is about John – I think it’s about you. John represents dying or death in the dream (an apt symbol of that for you as his death had such an impact on you) and his being well and leaving the hospital represents hope. I think you have been wondering if you are dying or dead in your own life, metaphorically speaking, and the dream expresses hope that comes from somewhere deep inside yourself that you are not. I don’t know in what sense dead: spiritually, in your career, feeling lack of fulfillment, in relationships, or what, but in some sense feeling dead or about to die (metaphorically). The dream then expresses a very real hope about yourself (represented through John being well), perhaps even a joy (represented by all the decorations in the room), a real hope that it is not true that you are dead or dying, a hope that there is something good about life (related to the area you feel dead or dying in). The priest may represent the opinion of others who are not sure whether it is true you are not dying or perhaps he represents your own doubts about yourself (expressed by his surprise about John being well and his wondering whether John is really well enough to be leaving). Despite the expression of doubt, however, the dream affirms in the end that the hope is real (through John’s comment that Leon said it was okay to leave). I think it is all about hope – symbolically portrayed through John not dying but being okay.

This mornings riddle - A youngster, standing one metre tall, lived with his parents on the tenth floor of an apartment building. When leaving for school in the morning, he would use the elevator to get to the ground floor. When returning from school, he would take the elevator to the fifth Then, he would get out of the elevator and climb the stairs to the tenth floor.

Question : Why did he not use the elevator to get to the tenth floor?