Art is courtesy of the talented Shellie Summers!
In a dream I woke from on July 28th, I found myself perplexed. I laid in bed for a while, trying to process what I had just experienced.
The dream centered around a society that was full of magic and that had once been ruled by a powerful monarch whose presence hovered over the nation that was in fear of his return. I was born into this society as a "Wind-rider," a group of people who had the power to stir up and ride the wind. Wind-riders were commonly known to be thieves, pirates, and just plain criminals with their wind-guided mobility, balance, and flight capabilities. Even though I was still in school, my peers and classmates looked at me as if I was a delinquent before I had even the chance to raise a draft or stir up a breeze.
During the dream, I partook in a quest of my own accord to retrieve some lost artifacts for a young child who had not yet possessed the agility or magical knowledge to retrieve them for himself after dropping them into the depths of the castle of the old Monarch. I managed to retrieve the artifacts with ease by jumping down the small opening where they had fallen. The drop should have killed me, but I used the wind to cushion my landing, retrieve the objects and then ascend the shaft to return them to the young man who had dropped them. This simple act caught my classmates by surprise, and I found their reactions insulting. As they continued to whisper behind my back about the simple act of kindness, I excused myself without a word to anyone. I was frustrated. The feeling I had was that I had just been judged before anyone of my classmates had even got to know me.
I don't think that what I dealt with in the dream was a form of colorism as anybody of any skin color could be a Wind-rider, not just African Americans like me. So as I lay awake, I wondered if it was some other form of discrimination that I experienced. However, part of me feels that the word "discrimination" is too strong for the situation. Part of me wonders if I experienced what it was like to be put in a box and what it is like to step out of a box. If this is indeed the case, then experiential knowledge through relationship is the answer that my dream proposed, I think.
Whether it is racism, discrimination, or classism, I could hardly imagine any of these standing strong in the face of good friendships. Maybe my theory is too simplistic, but I certainly like the sound of it.
I am a Zephyr; please do not mistake me for a Tempest.
Here are a few other dreams circulated around the topic of race.
I feel like it speaks of defining one's self. The wind is commonly used by those with nefarious intentions, in the past and present. But you are not those people. Your words and actions are your responsibility alone, the same with those who made their own choices. In the bible, one's name proclaimed their destiny. Even how one was called affected the path they walked, but it wasn't until the person themself called themself who they believed them to be, it was settled. Such as Abram finally calling himself Abraham. As a man thinkenth in his heart, so is he....and out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. What you say about yourself, you will become. People can talk all they want about those who came before you, those who are like you and what they do. They can say that's who you are. But you are the one who can settle it. You can let what others say about you define you, or you can let your words and actions, say who you are.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, one could say the monarch is God who will come back again and the people, the world, doesn't want Him to come back. The wind made me think of freedom, and also the Holy Spirit, Ruach, and Truth. There are many times in history when God's word is used to hurt other people, and it is still being used to hurt others today. Not every Christian is an authentic one, and those who are, are rare and may be seen with more suspicion and ridicule. Their every action is questioned, and what they speak is laughed at. But Christ is coming back, and creation groans for His return, and the Word says that if we do not speak, rocks will cry out. The choices that were made, are already done. But what we do now, when we speak His Truth, when we love instead of hate, forgive instead of resenting, give and not take...that matters. What we say and do shows who we are. But most of all, we need to remember that our identity is in Christ and it's Him we live and have our being.
Nice! I always love reading your reply to these things!
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