DREAM bit that I was in a huge room, like a big warehouse but well-lit with a very high ceiling (a recurring theme). I think it was a place the equivalent of Loblaws, where I used to work until 6 weeks ago, and I was just about to leave. The part I remember I was talking to a woman who is working there but I think on the renovation (interesting, the store is probably in the midst of renovation in real life, I forgot until now). I am going through some stuff put away in this large area on shelves that they want out of the way, but people could go and claim what’s theirs if they still want it. There were aisles and aisles of it. I am talking to the woman and going through stuff at the same time, as if to update her or pass on the information because I’m leaving the store for good. There was an old-fashioned tin with a few little items in it, which I put back. Then I picked up a draw-string pouch and pulled out articles of clothing, one after another continuously. I am amazed now how many things I pulled out from such a small pouch, which was no bigger than my hand. I draped each article over my left arm as I pulled them out, as I was taking them with me. I remember recognizing them but had forgotten about them. I had another dream not long ago with this same theme of finding put away but forgotten items at another place where I used to work.
DREAMWORK:
Hmmm... There must be something I’ve forgotten and left behind – something valuable to me still – from my working life, that I keep revisiting in these dreams... something to do with responsibility, because I was always leaving last-minute (literally) instructions with a successor. My body tells me that the second part is wrong, it’s not only about responsibility but also, legacy, what I’ve left behind. Hmmm!
This information is still coming from the collective unconscious (the big building with lots of people), though the imagery and lessons are for me personally.
Renovation – the excavation and overhaul I’ve been doing with myself the last couple of years, more intensely the last 6 months or so since I ended my healing practice and entered into a kind of personal retreat. So, even though I’ve left the work force, the work is goes on in the form of renovation.
Legacy – some of the legacy (the tin) I left behind was still good but no use to me anymore – so some things I’ve come away with from my time there will still benefit others – hmmm, so this ‘legacy’ is not just what I leave behind me, but also what I’ve learned or earned from my time at work, something I can take with me as I leave. Like a keepsake or souvenir but more valuable, a gift from my labour. In this dream this gift is old clothing I’ve worn, roles or personae I’ve tried on and experimented with, they have brought me to where I am today. Attached to these roles are responsibilities that went with each, expectations and standards that were upheld, and it is time I reclaim them so I can let them go. Because no one else can dispose of them but me, in the way that it honours their service and expresses my gratitude. In this case I will be throwing the baby out with the bath water – the old roles as well as the responsibilities and expectations. These are also what the tension in my upper chest is about.
I am also grateful to know that a little bit of what I’ve left behind will be of use for others, and for my dreams which not only teach and heal me, but gently reminds me of the phase I am in - renovation - whenever I start to beat up on myself with responsibilities and expectations I no longer need.
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