...but what does it all mean?!
A few weeks ago I had a dream in which an old friend of mine passed away. I wasn't witness to his death, but everyone I saw as I went about my daily activities was mentioning it and talking about it. There was speculation about whether it was suicide, although no one seemed to know how he died. I remembered how we used to go out dancing, how much fun he was and how he had me over for homemade soup when a relative of mine passed away. I wished I had thanked him more for his kindness, and spent more time with him - we had drifted apart and hadn't seen each other for months.
On my way home, I ran into a friend of a friend. She had also heard the news, and I ended up visiting with her for a few hours. We had tea in her living room, a quaint old victorian-type house similar to those in the Annex, and shared stories of our lost loved ones. She had many; I had only a few, but it didn't matter. After I left to continue home I felt a bit better, and was surprised at how this brought us together, suddenly close, after being "merely" acquaintances for our entire relationship.
Before I reached my house, I ran into someone who was the spitting image of my recently-passed friend. He was standing beside the sidewalk, looking cute as usual, and I did a double take. It was him.
I was confused. My first thought was "you're NOT dead!", but he corrected me. Although he looked and felt and acted entirely living, he had indeed passed away; the person I was seeing was his same presence but on a different plane of being. I was so happy that I was able to tell him how I felt. He wasn't so much a ghost, or an angel. He was just himself, happier than I'd ever seen him, radiating joy, smiling with his eyes. I asked him what it was like to have died, and his response was so positive - "I feel great, man. I feel better than I ever have in my whole life. I'm so happy now." I was overjoyed and in that moment I stopped fearing death myself, because how could I fear it with this person standing in front of me, so happy to exist in this new realm? I started to laugh, and I didn't feel any grief or regret about his death; I was so happy for him.
In waking life, my friend is still around, and I told him I'd dreamed of his death, but not any of the details. My less realistic side (if you can call it that) was relieved that this dream was just a dream, that my friend still lives on my same plane of being. But weeks later, it hit me that perhaps some part of him was gone after all - he had been transitioning for quite some time, almost since we met. I can't assume he feels that some part of him is dead, or know how he'd feel if he heard what I really dreamed, but I'm hopeful that he is as happy as he was in the dream. Having left behind a life that maybe felt uncomfortable at best, maybe torturous and confining during the worst times, I hope he can finally live as he's wanted to live for so long. I hope he knows that I'm happy for him, and am lucky to know such beautiful and amazing people.
On my way home, I ran into a friend of a friend. She had also heard the news, and I ended up visiting with her for a few hours. We had tea in her living room, a quaint old victorian-type house similar to those in the Annex, and shared stories of our lost loved ones. She had many; I had only a few, but it didn't matter. After I left to continue home I felt a bit better, and was surprised at how this brought us together, suddenly close, after being "merely" acquaintances for our entire relationship.
Before I reached my house, I ran into someone who was the spitting image of my recently-passed friend. He was standing beside the sidewalk, looking cute as usual, and I did a double take. It was him.
I was confused. My first thought was "you're NOT dead!", but he corrected me. Although he looked and felt and acted entirely living, he had indeed passed away; the person I was seeing was his same presence but on a different plane of being. I was so happy that I was able to tell him how I felt. He wasn't so much a ghost, or an angel. He was just himself, happier than I'd ever seen him, radiating joy, smiling with his eyes. I asked him what it was like to have died, and his response was so positive - "I feel great, man. I feel better than I ever have in my whole life. I'm so happy now." I was overjoyed and in that moment I stopped fearing death myself, because how could I fear it with this person standing in front of me, so happy to exist in this new realm? I started to laugh, and I didn't feel any grief or regret about his death; I was so happy for him.
In waking life, my friend is still around, and I told him I'd dreamed of his death, but not any of the details. My less realistic side (if you can call it that) was relieved that this dream was just a dream, that my friend still lives on my same plane of being. But weeks later, it hit me that perhaps some part of him was gone after all - he had been transitioning for quite some time, almost since we met. I can't assume he feels that some part of him is dead, or know how he'd feel if he heard what I really dreamed, but I'm hopeful that he is as happy as he was in the dream. Having left behind a life that maybe felt uncomfortable at best, maybe torturous and confining during the worst times, I hope he can finally live as he's wanted to live for so long. I hope he knows that I'm happy for him, and am lucky to know such beautiful and amazing people.