On Dreams

My apologies to Aristotle from whom I stole the title of this post from his original work. "Why then, Julia, have you posted a pic of Sigmund Freud?", you ask. Well, when looking up images of Aristotle, several scary images of statues popped up, and we all know how I feel about statues. I also remember reading a text by the same name by Freud in college, so I suppose I'm not the first to gank the title. So there.

Phew! My brain is ALL. OVER. the place today. Blame it on grad school, blame it on dreams. Blame it on the a-ah-ah-ah-alco...what's that, Jaime Foxx?

Have you seen those new Bing! commercials where a person asks their parent or spouse a question and they reply with several somewhat related (but not really) responses repeatedly until they appear to resemble the spawn of the devil and the main character is left to back away slowly and think, 'why did I ask'?

I'm like that today. Try me.

"Julia, how are you today?"

I hate it when someone puts the roll of toilet paper on the dispenser so the sheets come under instead of over. I love it when people cutting or trimming the lawn stop for you so you can pass by. Did I finish cutting the lawn? That episode of Mad Men with the tractor in the office was disturbing.

And so also applies when I pray today and I ask God, 'what's Your Dream for me? What's my life's Dream?'

First of all, speaking in terms of 'dreams' is somewhat against my nature. I mean, I like dream interpretation. I find that very interesting. But here I don't mean dreams in the literal sense, but the figurative one.

Now, I'm the realistic pessimist, remember? Dreams are for optimists. I don't speak in dreams and rainbows and kittens. I just don't.

So where did I come up with the question, then, of 'my life's dream'?

Another idea I stole, I'm afraid. From this guy:

Blessed James Alberione. Still love 'em. He came up with this prayer:

"Your dream, O Master, is to lay hold of me, to change me with your divine life.
Your dream is to purify me, to free me from my selfishness and my faults.
Your dream is to re-create me, to make me a new person in your image.
Your dream is to fill me with your charity, to make me love the Father and all my brothers and sisters just as you do.
Your dream is to bind me to you with the closest bonds, to bind out hearts together as one.
Your dream is to make me strong, to impart to me your divine power, so that I can overcome evil and be constant in doing good.
Your dream is to enflame me with an untiring zeal to spread your kingdom in the world.
Your dream is to possess me in this life and in the life to come,
O Master, may your dream come true,
May I be able to give all that you ask of me."

Good, right? I've known of this prayer for a couple years now, but until recently haven't been able to pray it with my whole heart. Not that I'm exactly 'living the dream' now- not at all.

I am currently praying yet ANOTHER novena, though this time with friends, which definitely adds an element of HOPE to the novena. Strength in numbers! It pretty much is a novena not too different from Alberione's prayer. We want to become more open to God's 'Life Dream' for us; for His Dream and our Dream to be one.

Look at me all up in this piece talking about DREAMS. Huh. God must be doing some kind of work in me :)

So what is my life's dream? Heck if I know. When you ask me that, I go back to sounding like that Bing commercial: 'I want to be a writer. NO, a wife! No a long time student! A volunteer!' I will say, though, in spite or despite of all the turmoil this year in trying to figure out 'my life's dream' I have become content in the waiting. Ah! Gasp!

And maybe that's God's Dream for me.

Ooooo....that's deep.
Peace,
Julia