I'm dreaming, and in my dream, I'm looking at a new product, either candy or snacks made from human remains. And while the idea seems slightly repellent, it isn't entirely so–it seems like a good use of a resource that otherwise is wasted, and somehow, in the logic that comes with dreaming, honoring of those who have died.

I look at the package and waver between two opinions: this is good…no, this is bad. I should at least try it, right?

I view all significant elements/people in my dreams as parts of myself, and with that in mind, what's going on here?

I think I face the dilemma of what to do with all the parts of myself that have, in one way or another, "died": old beliefs, abandoned behaviors, lost relationships, discarded values, memories of failures. These fill the graveyard of my past (and my subconscious). Some stink from decay. Some have been long forgotten in overgrown corners of the graveyard.

But my dream suggests that something good and valuable can be created from the mouldering remains of the past, something sweet, something nourishing. I think I'm saying to myself, "Don't be afraid or ashamed or embarrassed of those parts of yourself that have died. See, something completely new is made of the elements that remain hidden, buried, misplaced. The new can evolve while still respecting what has passed. They old turns to dust and mingles with the soil out of which the new grows."

And I am open to the possibility.

Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.