Not too long ago a friend consulted me about a dream in which the flowering vines on her border wall had been ripped out by her new neighbor. They had been planted and lovingly tended through the years and held a special significance for her. He offered to pay but thought she was being ridiculous. She woke choking. She asked me to consult Richard which I did. With her permission, here is his response.
Ann: Richard, would you be kind enough to speak with my friend about this dream?
Richard Burton: With the greatest pleasure, for this is a dream about nourishment and that is a subject near to my heart.
My dear, what nourished you in the dream were the flowers, yes, not simply their beauty and fragrance, but also the connections that were made and expanded as these vines were tended throughout the years. Your joy in and around them grew as you watched them develop into a delicate beauty that covered what had been a rough and barren wall.
When they were ripped from this surface by an unfeeling neighbour, you had a choice. You could replant and say nothing or you could confront and allow his ignorance rent room in your psyche. In the dream you chose the latter and woke up choking on your own soul betrayal.
I am sorry to say this is a common problem. We all want to show others, usually our nearest and dearest, the error of their ways. The problem with this is that we get sucked in and pretty soon we are on the slippery slope to a new world war.
Instead, why not refuse to engage? You cannot plant grace on barren souls. You cannot turn willful ignorance into spiritual discovery.
In fact, you have only one effective means of dealing with the unconscious attitudes and actions of the humans around you, and that is the discipline of example. And not example to convert the heathen, no, rather example to shore up your own faith and commitment to what you know to be true, i.e., the existence and reality of beauty and goodness.
Let the fruit from this practice bring a smile to your face and allow you pleasure in your own existence. You may or may not convert those who come within your aura to your way of seeing, but that is really beside the point. The point is being faithful to your soul, your spiritual clan, and your Creator.
January 7, 2023
Free Image Credit: Wikimedia, Roses and rose culture (1892)(14597494167).jpg