Can you remember the late 1950's, early 1960's.. Kids would play outside from breakfast to sometime dark... We watch TV on Saturday mornings.. Half the time dad had a mirror in from of the TV so when he stood behind the TV to adjust it, he could see if his turning those little knobs were helping.. Most of the time we would end up using foil on the rabbit ears to watch one or two channels... I would get tired of the picture rolling up the screen and after Mighty Mouse I would go outside to climb a tree or play swing the statue.. If there was a enough kids we would play Red Light, Green Light... Those were some great times... At this particular time I was about 5. There wasn't kindergarten then.. We would just start in the first grade... Of course, my birthday fell in the wrong month, so I had to wait... I could care less.. I much rather run or ride my bike...
Northern Florida seemed like a great place to me to be a kid... Mom would always put us to bed at the same time every night, it was always, right before dark... If time changed, it was still right before dark... This one particular night me and my sister got into our beds and said our prayers... My bed was closest to the window... I would sneak over to the window and turn the crank so the window would roll out and my sister and myself would lay there and listen to the night time critters.. Some how we always knew that the garbage man was going to come and get the kids still on the street after dark... We never did hear him.. But Mom said he was out there somewhere.. Sometime during the night I had this dream that I can remember to this day as if it were yesterday... Before I get to this dream, I wanted to let you know how much of a naive child I was and how innocent the times were... Still to this day this dream carries me through life, gives me a reason to get up and dust off my britches or give some one else hope... Remember the dream now gives me goosebumps...This dream starts out with me standing in front of a very high stone building that had steps all the way to the top.. For me to use the steps I took my long blond hair and tied in a knot and literally had to climb the step in from of me.. Every step I came to was over my head and I climbed and climbed these steps... I really don't even know why I was climbing them... Except maybe curiosity or a very strong urge... After what seemed like hours to me I finally could see the top... There were people standing black and white tile floor of a large open room... There was a large wall in the center of the room with a over sized brown wooden door... I peaked around the stone wall that divided the room and the other side of the room was exactly the same as this side but, no people... I looked out from the top of these stone steps and I could see farms, squared off sections of land for as far as the eye could see... As I walked around a little more, exploring I noticed that the roof was so high that you could barely see the ceiling... This roof was held up by white pillars... I asked this man was the poles were, He told me pillars.. I nodded my head and began to explore some more...
People and children were walking around talking to each other and every once in a while one would go through the door.. Then I noticed the people were all wearing different styles of clothes.. Some where wearing jeans, shorts, tennis shoes and others were wearing long white dress. I thought they were sheets and they were tied at the belly with a rope... I wanted to ask but I remembered my mom told me to mind my manners if you didn't know people... After a little while I was becoming tired, hungry and was wanting to leave this strange place.. Right before I started to climb down the large stone steps, a man cam up to me with out a face.. Or I don't remember seeing his face.. He looked at me and called me by name and told me to hold on to that pillar.. I looked at him puzzled... I can't hold on to that big thing.. My arms wouldn't stretch around it.. I told him I was to small and wasn't able to.. He turned me back toward the pillar and again told me to hold on.. So, I stretched out my arms as far as I could stretch them.. About the same time the wind began to blow. I had my head laying up again this stone pillar and was looking at the peoples hair and clothes blowing in the wind... The wind became increasingly stronger and I was starting to get frightened... The man near me told me not to worry.. Just have faith... I asked him what was faith..
"Child. Some of us come to this world to learn lessons. The lessons we learn are hard and can hurt.. Your life is full of things that some give up on... Remember, you will survive.. You will learn what you came to learn.. Never give up and Never, Never Loose Faith. I will be with you always.. Even if you think that I am not there, I will be.. Just call out to me and I will answer.." I asked him his name so I could call it out if and when I needed him.. He told me his name was Michael.. "he also said the lessons I learn from life, I can teach others out to live, how to carry on and how to love themselves for who they really are...". I sat up straight in bed. My hair was in a large knot and it was really late at night.. I got up to go the bathroom and then back to bed.. To go to the bathroom, I had to climb on my bed to reach the light and then turn every light on to the bathroom and off on the way back.. I started to do it again.. I looked out the window at the starry sky and I asked .. Okay Michael.. I have faith.. there are no monsters under my be.. AND you know there wasn't any monster under my bed..
The next morning I told my mom about the dream.. She couldn't get over the fact I knew what a pillar was and how the ground looked like large squares from the sky... The next Sunday my mom had me going to church so I could learn about faith.. I went every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.. I loved it.. I got to learn things like faith and more.. Although the church didn't give me the same feeling as I got from when Michael knelled down next to me.. The feeling can't be described but it is comforting but yet distant... I will soon be 54.. For the last 49 years.. this dream has helped me through some of the roughest times life can throw at a person.. I have told this dream to others who became inspired to go on...
Although it is now that I truly am beginning to understand how I can help others and let them know that the journey we take also felt by others we can't see.. My path is just starting.. It is going to be a long road but I prefer to call it a spiritual path for where I am now standing with myself.. Journeys, spiritual or otherwise are a road best traveled with a friend....
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