Don't Rock The Boat Part II

Featured image: Emerging Dragonfly

My Dec. 24th Dream - Part II

In a mixed-up surreal way, my dream was all about where things appear to be realistic but aren’t. It seems, as I reflect back on the dream, that I have tied the dream to the two series I have been working on called “The Middle Is Not Grey,” and, "individualism," which as it turns out is all about the individuals who live in the middle.

The two ideas tugging at each other in the dream were non sensical, but each side had two opposing objects that they used to try to solve the problems. One of the objects was made of metal and the other consisted of an invention made of a very hard flexible plastic. For me, in the dream the team with the metal object was the bad guys, as they destroyed life. They were the guys that believed in polarities, or extremes such as good and bad or black and white. They are the guys who believe and promote a middle that is grey. The other team had made an object that had the same objective as the metal object, but it did less harm, valued life, and was extremely flexible. They believed in the value of imagination. At times, their object was like Wonder Woman's whip as it coiled around bad things, snake like. They are the team that believed in innovation, and creativity. (in part 2 of this dream I will talk about these two teams more.)

The two ideas tugging at each other, were confusing in the dream. The team with the metal objects thought that their object was the better object of the two. The team with the metal object thought there could be no improvement on their object. They believed that the others should not disagree with them nor their goals and values regarding this object because they believed only they could be right. They believed in change, but they could not offer a better way for change to happen.. They made those who disagreed with them uncomfortable by using physical force to get their way and have their ideas unchanged.

The other team thought differently and disagreed with the opposing team. They were not afraid to suggest ideas and objects that would perhaps have the same end results. They came up with an object that had the same end goals but, and this is a big but, without the loss of life. This team kept, running away from the other team, and each time they ran, they put their heads together and tried to come up with a different idea. Each time that they came up with a different idea, their object changed, improved and allowed others to see and think about possibilities.

When I awoke from the dream, and put all the chaotic images and ideas together, I came back to how my dream ended with my waking up and talking about possibilities and filled with glory. As I was waking, the team that came up with a different object was definitely filled with the same positive glory in my dream.
The dream was filled with differences. It was filled with the differences that people in the middle experience, not the differences that should be accepted uncritically as with the team with the metal object. The team with the object made of plastic was able to take the many abstractions that surrounded the metal object, deal with them and see beyond the scope of the immediate moment. They kept trying to “think differently.” They wanted to rock the boat and they were not afraid to do so. They knew that the middle was not grey and willed with the utopian idea of not rocking the boat. They knew that to not rock the boat meant that we must all think alike. If we would all cooperate and compromise utopia could happen. What they didn’t take into account is the individualism of the folks in the middle and their uniqueness.

My dream told me that the idea of utopian consensus did not work. Of course, I was already pointing that out in my series “The Middle Is Not Grey.” But, my dream just confirmed it. My dream spoke of the fact that we don’t have social harmony because it is an unrealistic idea. Instead, it is an unrealistic idea because we all have different ideas. Anytime that we take the same attitude of those with the metal object, that is an attitude of "we are right and you are wrong." This type of attitude only creates hostility and fear, uncertainty, bitterness, and mistrust. If unequivocal definitions and inflexible goals are barred from social and public discussions, then those in the middle are forced to struggle to hide how they really think and feel out of fear. When this happens, they become deceptive in how they speak and present their ideas.

The individuals I paint that are in the middle do not hide and are not deceptive in how they speak and present their ideas. They are respectful and listen. They offer alternatives and discussion, and follow the golden rule of, "Do unto others as you would do unto yourself."

My middle is not grey but filled with different colors, shapes, lines and ideas that are not hidden. The middle that is grey is asking them not to rock the boat. That is unrealistic if we are to respect the individuality of everyone.

I was being told in my dream that I was on the right path and that I should keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. That is what I woke up to. I awoke knowing that I should not have a fear of offending others. The dream told me that it was ok to speak of the abstract concepts in my work – like the team with the plastic object did. It told me that it's ok to come up with a different solution, one that involved change. It was such a wonderful, glorious message that it could only be called a blessing or a miracle.

The caveats within this dream; I am a constitutionalist – I believe the principles set up in the constitution work as well today as they did when they were originally written. And the other caveat, I believe in the second amendment. The metal object in this dream was a gun, the plastic object in this dream was also a gun. However, the plastic object did not destroy the life of another human being. It merely stopped a harmful deed from being done as it had the ability to deal with the situation in a reasonable manner. My dream told me that it is ok to rock the boat.

To be continued...