Gruesome But True

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,

I do love my cats, but I don’t think of myself as a “Crazy Cat Lady.”  Really!  I love the dogs, too!  I’m an animal lover, and the pets are part of our family.  But I suppose I would have to say that I feel more in harmony with the cats.  I understand cats and their behavior. 

Some people are put off by cats because they don’t understand them.  They can even be offended by a cat just being a cat.  Why get mad at nature?  So you can imagine why I was especially upset to have such a horrible dream as this one:

I dreamed that Missy, my sweet Maltese kitty, was cut completely in half.  It seemed like one last vein or one last section of her skin was all that connected the severed halves of her body.  It was stretched to the limit, almost to the point of snapping.  In spite of this, Missy pulled herself along with her front legs, acting as if everything was OK.  But I could see she would surely die.

Why in the world would I ever dream something so gruesome would happen to a cat that I love so much?  I would never hurt her!  What could this dream mean?  

Signed,

Crazy Cat Lady

 

Dear Cat Lady,

You are among the ranks of millions of people who love their pets dearly.  In addition, you are among the millions who sometimes have graphic dreams that are upsetting and frightening because they seem to come out of nowhere.  It seems such a dream can’t possibly speak for you or about you.  But of course, it does.

In fact, in your dream, you didn’t hurt your cat.  You found her already injured.  She was hurt in a very specific way.  Her upper body was almost completely separated from her lower body.  You could say that her head was detached from her heart, or her guts. 

Sorry to be so explicit, but your dream pulls no punches.  It says rather bluntly that you, Dear Dreamer, are the one who’s disconnected from her gut feelings.  You are dragging yourself along acting as though everything’s OK.  This charade disregards the obvious fact that you cannot go on this way.  Your dream shows that without question you’re “stretched to the limit, to the point of snapping.” 

On some level you know that if you continue, you will surely die.  I wouldn’t take that as a literal, physical death, Dear Dreamer.  But your dream suggests that somewhere in your waking life, you are ignoring what you know in your gut to be true – you’re pretending that life can go on as it is.

Look around yourself, Dear Dreamer.  Does someone seem put off by you because s/he doesn’t understand your nature?  Only by denying the truth, your own gut feelings, can you continue in a relationship that rejects you for being yourself.  Not a healthy way to live!

Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamer!

SMYD