I Will Overcome: Thoughts On My Dream

I recently wrote a post about a dream I had. I sensed that the dream had an important message for me so I have been pondering it.

The basic concept of the dream was that I was running and I encountered three obstacles: trying to carry a heavy backpack, fearing I would fall into the pond I was running by, and having to climb down from a pile of rubble that I interpreted as a fallen temple. There were two people in the dream, but the only parts they played were to be present at the beginning and to encourage me as I climbed down from the rubble.

I rarely resort to lists of dream symbolism but I was really stumped on this one. And when I did the research on symbolism, what I read rang true with me and provided answers.

Water is symbolic of the emotional life and a temple symbolizes one's body.

Quite simply, the dream was about my fears as I pursue a life of wellness.

I fear being unable to move forward (re: weighted down by the backpack)
I fear being sidetracked or sabotaged by my emotions (re: falling in the water)
I fear being trapped by my (supposedly) destroyed body (re: the temple)

BUT...I laid down the backpack, I didn't fall in the water, and I was able to escape the temple. The dream was not a scarey warning, it was a message that I WILL OVERCOME!

And the two people in the dream? Biblically, two is the number of witness and truth. They were there to confirm the message of the dream.

Interestingly, the three obstacles could also represent the three components of the total self: mental, emotional, and physical. Mental - (the backpack), those thoughts that keep me chained to the past and the me I used to be. Emotional - (the water), anxiety, fear, frustration, impatience, depression, hopelessness. Physical - (the temple), the condition of my body, how I have neglected it, and what is needed to repair it.