Dream A Little Dream
A Poetry-Essay Hybrid
We strain to slow the pass of time,
halt the daily march and drill
that drives us sightless toward the end,
beyond that dark,
forbidding hill.
And here,
the remnants of our dream,
empty lodge,
cobweb and dust,
chipped and broken blue gourd cup,
forgotten and well used,
like us.
But herds still plunge down banks to drink.
Fruit falls full and overripe.
Fiery sun drowns in the sea
to rise renewed in morning's light.
We yearn to hold a bright-eyed gaze,
move our feet in supple dance,
smell the rain-fresh evening breeze,
wear the same worn shirt and pants.
For when this flesh dries into dust,
breath exhales becoming wind,
like white sage rising from the snow,
we'll circle round and sprout again.
Circles - by James Don BlueWolf
After reading the poem above by
, I got thinking about our dreams we’ve had growing up and through our lives of who we want to be - and the times we choose to neglect them. Someone I find to have some noteworthy wisdom on this is Carl Jung. Well-known for his life’s work elucidating the meaning of dreams, fantasies - and how they relate to the person we wish to show up as in the world - he has the following to say:[W]e know that every good idea and all creative work are the offspring of the imagination, and have their source in what one is pleased to call infantile fantasy. Not the artist alone, but every creative individual whatsoever owes all that is greatest in his life to fantasy. The dynamic principle of fantasy is play, a characteristic also of the child, and as such it appears inconsistent with the principle of serious work. But without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable. It is therefore short-sighted to treat fantasy, on account of its risky or unacceptable nature, as a thing of little worth. It must not be forgotten that it is just in the imagination that a man’s highest value may lie.
From “The Development of Personality” by Carl Jung
I recently gifted my copy of "Memories, Dreams, Reflections" to a friend I've come to know in the past few months. We had a good conversation about the works of Jung when we met, and she is in the process of actualising one of her dreams of following in the footsteps of her mother, in being a full-time witch. She spoke to me of her vision, combining crystal work, spell casting and astrological concepts with Celtic magic, in honour of her lineage, as well as some of her insights into the psyche and trauma gained through her Psychology studies and readings of Jung.
My opinions on witchcraft are irrelevant for this piece, but for those interested, I've written some reflections on this for my paid subscribers, which you can find below.
Throughout our discussion, what impressed me most was her ability to identify that there was something powerful and necessary about needing to pursue that calling, and a recognition that the dream of hers was a path to purpose and meaning.
There are many circles on the web that have gained notoriety in the past decade by talking about the "lack of meaning" that particularly plagues young people, but also adults, in our current society. We are not to be nations of dreamers - instead, we are to outsource our dreams to "experts" whose vision of humanity is perfect for all of us. It is, in my view, a part of what has given rise to the "lost" generation of youth today.
And I know first-hand what it feels like to be a part of that.
I had all sorts of dreams and ideas about what I wanted to be at various points of my adolescence. But, again and again, I felt like my dreams would be quashed for being "unrealistic" or "not useful to society", whether by our slave-making school systems or by familial structures.
A world-class mathematician, a world-famous musician, an actually good politician, and, for a time, even magician. Maker of fizz, computer wiz, pulling teeth or trading tea, a novelist with perfect twists or foraged medicine specialist. A scientist-come-altruist, inventor's also on the list. A cook or travelling merchant of books was even on the hook - All those dreams I laid to rest. No wonder so many never awaken.
All Those Dreams - A Poem by Tom Shaw
What happens when we deny our dreams and ambitions? We can return to Jung on this, and his conversation with Richard I. Evans on the role of fantasy to elucidate this:
[W]hen you observe yourself within, you see moving images, a world of images generally known as fantasies. Yet these fantasies are facts. You see, it is a fact that the man has such and such a fantasy; and it is such a tangible fact, for instance, that when a man has a certain fantasy, another man may lose his life, or a bridge is built. These houses were all fantasies. Everything you do here, all this, everything, was fantasy to begin with, and fantasy has a proper reality. That is not to be forgotten; fantasy is not nothing. It is, of course, not a tangible object; but it is a fact nevertheless. Fantasy is, you see, a form of energy, despite the fact that we can't measure it. It is a manifestation of something, and that is a reality. That is a reality, like for instance, the Peace Treaty of Versailles, or something like that. It is no more; you can't show it; but it has been a fact. And so psychical events are facts, are realities.
Carl Jung – Richard Evans Interviews, 1957.
Our fantasies for the future speak to the reality of who we are - and who we wish to become. If we cannot have a dream of where we want to be, we cannot grow and create. We cannot bring ourselves out of the suffering that we allow ourselves to dwell in. Without growth, there are no moments of beauty, and no moments of blue that need to more beauty. And growing is what we were designed to do.
put it beautifully in her re-sharing of her article Follow Your Dreams, and You’ll Never Work a Day In Your Life, exploring how following our dreams allows us to transcend the feeling of “work” being “work” and her own experience on the matter. After you’re finished with my piece here, I encourage you to read her piece over on her Substack, which I’ll link below.
So my challenge to you all is: have a dream. If a big one is a struggle, then dream a little dream.
My dream, that admittedly is not so little, is to facilitate the healing of broken relationships - both between people and with the wider world - through the celebration of beauty in life. I dream of a scenario where I can do this both with my writings and in facilitating gatherings for letting wisdom emerge. And I know I'm on my way to getting there.
What is your dream?
Thank you for taking the time to read this piece. I hope it inspired something within you.
With gratitude,
Tom
