I dreamt last night of a pack of wolves attacking their young. I was standing on a hillside looking down a gully at this horrific scene of wolves ripping their young from limb to limb. I seemed to be paralyzed, I couldn’t move as I stared down the gully at the gruesome sight that was unfolding before me, as if I was watching a show on tv. I kept thinking, wolves don’t devour their babies, has the world gone mad? On the other side of the gully, some people arrived with their domesticated dogs and were throwing these completely defenseless animals down the gully to be devoured by the wolves. At this point I came out of my trance and started running down the hillside toward the gully where this barbaric scene laid before me. I never made it to the bottom because next I knew I was sitting straight up in bed with sweat running down my back as if I had just completed a marathon.
The dream was very real, so real I could smell the earth below my feet and the putrid stench of fear as the babies were being devoured by the beasts. Dreams talk to me and as I sat up in bed trying to figure out what this dream meant, I couldn’t shake the dreadful feeling of the state the world is in right now and how the world just seems to be accepting horrific images as if we are watching the scene on tv. The image of people throwing their beloved pets down the gully to be devoured by the beasts was the event that moved me to run down the gully and essentially sacrifice myself to the chaotic and violent script before me. I never made it to the outcome, but the outcome found me as I continued to slip into the negativity of the meaning.
Living in a positive light is important to me and I’ve always tried to be positive with my boys, teach them to be genuine and to always look on the bright side. However, I can’t deny the effects negativity has had on me and how the sinister, cynical energy can force itself into my world like a stalker who creeps through the night looking for an easy intrusion, inflicting fear and anguish to all those encountered. I choose to live in a genuine, conclusive world convincing myself that by my actions alone I can create a world where I can leave negativity on the shores as I sail to a distant destination, a destination where I can be free of the threat and harm that comes my way. However, can we? As the world around us unfolds to reveal the reality of the gloom others must live with, can we continue to leave their shores and sail to a distant destination, to a paradise that is only for a select few.
There are many who think we can and as my horrific dream called out to me last night, I stood immobilized by the horrific scene and I was unable to move until I saw my people throwing their beloved pets to calm the beast. It was only then that I felt my feet moving toward the chaos, away from the light, down to the deep hell that was below me. As I tried to go back to sleep, I kept thinking, “when our own small world is threatened and we are moved to rescue our families from devastation, will it be too late?”
Johanne Fraser
The Art of Silence in a Noisy World 