Dreams. I’ve been giving them a bad rap lately. My own dreams have been stressful, so much so that I’ve started to dread having them. Last night I forgot to pack my bridesmaid’s dress, the wedding was about to start (I was late), and I couldn’t find anyone to loan me their car keys. I’ll spare you the rest of the complicated details, both because no one wants to hear about another person’s sleep story and also because the meaning is obvious: I’m anxious.
Everyone seems to be right now. There is a tension in the air that the typical autumn cheer can’t seem to break. The bad news is nightmarish. Good news feels distracting. When I talk with friends and colleagues about all that’s going on in the world, and in our country, a common theme is that it feels like a dream. A surreality.
But our own dreams, I do know, aren’t something to fear. The ones that play movies inside our sleeping heads tell us things about ourselves that we haven’t fully registered yet while awake. They help us process and organize the mess up there. That’s why I am learning to listen to them — mostly: to the fact that I’m having them — in the same way that I am learning to hear what my own waking anxious feelings are telling me, so that I can work on addressing whatever’s going on in my subconscious.
Dreams are also something to be excited about. To look for and live for. Dreams, the ones we have while wide awake about our hopes and fantasies and goals and visions for the future, give us purpose. They push us forward and drive our daily efforts. They have the capability, big and bold, small and random, to make the world a better place.
This month on Man Repeller, we’re going to explore Dreams — from the kinds that happen when we sleep, to the ones we imagine while awake, to dream jobs and life trajectories — and what happens when these kinds of dreams change. If there’s anything in this vein you’ve been dying to read about, let us know. And if you just really, really need to talk about your weird dream from last night, consider the comment section below your invitation to do so.
Feature photo by Louisiana Mei Gelpi; Art Direction by Emily Zirimis; Featuring Cire Trudon candle, CHIMI tiger print sunglasses and MoMA Store transparent vase, primary color vase, hourglass and architecture cubes.
