I would like to go swimming, but the day is too cold (I think) to swim in an outdoor pool or in the nearby ocean. I am surprised that two nuns are swimming. One is dressed in a regular (conservative) swimsuit, the other in a gray habit, complete with the headpiece. I’m amazed to see the nun in the habit swimming steady laps, up and down. She looks quite lovely, young and lively and strong, capable of going great distances.
Feelings: amused.
Reality: A dear friend, a Dominican Sister of Peace, was with us on New Year's Eve. She does not wear a habit. Though the dream may partly reflect things from her life, my main thought is that it is speaking to me about salutary habits as I embark on my new book project.
Bumper sticker: Slow and steady and modest can be a good habit.
Further thoughts: Swimming is also a good habit, and I have compared the process of writing a book to swimming the Australian crawl, staying low in the water, minimizing resistance. After first making this analogy, I was delighted to find that the American poet William Stafford developed the same theme in an essay titled "Writing the Australian Crawl."
6 comments:
hi Robert, I am new to your work. I am reading Dreaming the Soul back Home. I feel very validated by it as My path has gone to those places. I did do a time travel too, from my future self to a time in my life that was extremely intense, that brought the guidance and protection for the raw space my family was in at the time. I love this stuff. thanks so much. Jill
Thanks for following this path, Jill. You'll find it's a path of limitless healing, creativity and adventure.
Nuns to me have tendencies toward focused purpose. If this were my dream I think of my habit of drawing inward in cozy gray sky comfort, reading,writing and chatting at times with my inner circle of friends and family.
Certainly the skies are very gray where I am right now. The habit that impressed me most with the gray nun in the pool was her steady movement, back and forth, up and down. Not a bad model for writing a book, and I am now working on what will be my 23rd published book.
I am that Dominican Sister of Peace and actually I was swimming recently with another sister. Neither of us was wearing a habit in the pool! However, I love the image as it has unfolded for you. My associations with the recent swim in waking life are joyous. We were on our way to a meeting that was about merger and an expansion of resources. It is about new life for us and fresh energy for the work. The merger celebration was the culmination of focused, steadfast work and even pushing forward amidst questions and challenges. It resulted in a letting go and in a weloming as we became one with Peace. It has been well worth it. So, swim on! Be in the flow!
Peace be with you, dear Sister! I am grateful that your waking pleasure in swimming was not only reflected in my happy dream, but brought a broader sense of creative flow, and creative energy.
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