An Awesome Dream

"I had a dream; I had an awesome dream."

--Lionel Richie

I had a wonderful dream last night, which really stuck with me all morning. My dreams are rarely cathartic and I don't identify as "religious" but this was about the closest I've ever come to either!

It started out as a large yard sale in a hardware store (something like a Home Depot). This part was not unusual; I dream a lot about getting good deals on stuff, or making money selling stuff, because, well, I have a lot of stuff, and I like to sell at yard sales and online.

Darkness came and the store started shutting down for the night (apparently we were to bed there). The store clerks gradually partitioned off and secured the yard sale area (presumably to protect the merchandise). At midnight, the store doors burst open and a procession of people carrying red candlelight spread across the store in silence. With them, an overwhelming sense of love and peace washed over people as they passed.

Thieves, racists, war mongers became friends. Strangers kissed and hugged. I was overwhelmed with a sense of worldwide tranquility and love.

I realized that I had lost track of Kristi and Genevieve and went outside to find her. News trucks were there, covering the worldwide event like a worldwide disaster, I mused. I found my family and hugged them as long as I could while explaining what happened inside.

So what does it mean? I know a lot of people attribute deep meaning to dreams, but as a scientist I know that dreams are just a random tapestry based on things that I've seen or heard recently -- in my experience often things that were observed, but not deeply considered. But I sure woke up feeling that the world had changed, and it was quite an experience.