I hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season. For those of you who are struggling, for whatever reason, I understand. May you have the strength to endure whatever comes your way. Remember, “This too shall pass.”

For me, Christmas went smoothly. We have one more family gathering today and then we can rest and return to our regularly scheduled program. 😉

As 2020 approaches there is much contemplating the previous year and what is to come. New Year’s resolutions may or may not be made. I am generally not one to use the New Year for such things. Re-evaluation occurs at regular intervals for me and so January 1st generally comes and goes without much notice. My hope, though, is that 2020 brings much needed clarity for not only myself but all of the world.

My visit to my Mom’s this Christmas made it hard to ignore the continued struggles of my sister and her family. As has been the theme for them since 2011 (and earlier for my sister), they came to my Mom’s broke and struggling to make ends meet. Their electricity and water had been turned off the previous week and my Mom helped get the electric turned back on but the water bill was still unpaid. Their landlords left at the beginning of the month on vacation and obviously had not paid the bills, causing both to be shut off. The past due balance indicated they may have done this purposefully to force my sister and her husband to pay them what they owed them. My sister and her husband have a habit of not paying rent and utilities until they outlive their stays and get evicted, so it is no surprise to us this is happening to them.

Yesterday I went back to my Mom’s to give her the cookies I had forgotten to take. My nephew was there, dropped off Christmas night by his parents without asking my Mom ahead of time. I overheard a conversation my cousin (and BIL) was having that indicated they were headed to a party that evening. My poor nephew was so disappointed that I had not brought his two cousins, my boys, that he broke down into tears and said, “I just want someone to play with.” Both my mom and I continue to worry about him. My Mom will take my nephew in all the time to try to help. He often cries about returning home. He does not like his father who is emotionally abusive and just plain mean to him.

It is not a surprise that I had a dream about my sister last night.

Dream: Horse Attack

The dream began with me talking with my sister and cousin about an idea to start a business. I was giving them advice about registering it as a DBA and encouraging them to not give up on their dream. An old acquaintance was there, someone who died many years ago. I remember him saying, “We will help you when you got successful enough to become an LLC.”

Then I was with my sister driving down dark roads in a city. We had to stop because a group of acrobats (complexity) was in the road doing back bends (pun on bending over backwards for someone). I patiently waited until they finished, watching them in their leotards gracefully bend in ways I never could.

Afterwards we traveled to a shop my sister wanted to visit. It was one that carried special foods that were way more expensive than a regular grocery store. My sister had in her hand a bag of organic oats (need for comfort) to buy. I suggested she not buy it there because of her lack of money (she is a big spender) and so she put the bag down. I remember the owners watching and being very nice despite us not buying anything.

I remember picking up a long, soft blanket (protection) while there and there was also some small animal. It may have been a dog but I can’t recall. My sister took it with her.

What I do remember is that after we left I ended up outside in the mountains (spiritual journey) with some other people. I became somewhat lucid and opted to step back to see where I was. I saw a beautiful mountain peak and a cabin (need for seclusion) with tall, dark windows (something unknown). Behind me was a field with knotted oak trees near the edges. In the field were many long-haired horses (strength, power, freedom) that resembled prehistoric horses – shorter with larger heads and fatter feet. I called them by a specific name but can’t remember it now.

I climbed a barbed wire fence (overcome limits of relationship) and sat on the ground watching the horses graze. I began to take photos and noticed a large flock of birds (freedom from limitation) taking flight. The scene was beautiful! The birds flew behind the majestic horses and the sky was brilliant behind them, dotted with white fluffy clouds and a brilliant blue. The birds seemed almost to be protecting the horses or lifting them up.

As I sat there enjoying myself, the horses became curious and slowly approached me. There was a small horse that I petted and it seemed like it had been the small animal we had seen at the shop and my sister had taken with her. I realized the stallion (masculine energy, passion) of the herd was angry we had messed with the foal and wanted to get me out of there. As I stood up and prepared to leave I came face to face with his angry face. He snorted and stomped his feet and I turned and quickly stepped over the fence to safety on the other side.

I told the rest of the people there to hide because I knew the stallion would not stop at that. We began to look in a parking lot full of trucks for a safe place to hide. I climbed inside the back of a truck (hard work) with a cage (protection) and began to lock myself inside. The stallion had gathered all his herd together and broken down the fence. The entire herd was stampeding (mob mentality, lack of control over others) toward the parked cars, knocking some over. I saw a large Greyhound bus (following the crowd) topple over and the people inside upside down calmly looking through the windows at me.

I waited inside, huddled down, hoping the stallion didn’t catch my scent.

This is where the dream ended.

Considerations

Typically my dreams with horses are positive but this dream seems not to be. It feels like a frustration dream focusing on my failure to get my sister to change her ways. The dream them morphs into my frustration with society as a whole not seeming to want to change for the better. The people in the bus are not even afraid when they are turned upside down. Instead they just stare at me as if I am suppose to do something but all I do is cower in the back of the truck. Perhaps I am afraid I can’t help, or feel unable to help?

It reminds me of parenthood and how we have to step back and let our children learn, even if it means they fall time and time again. Though my sister is not my child, in many ways she feels like a child to me, behaving like a teenager would despite being four years older than me. Seeking out only pleasure and hiding from anything painful or uncomfortable, she is blind to the truth. This behavior is backing her deeper into a corner. Eventually her only escape will be to fight back by doing something. Hopefully it is not something destructive but her patterns suggest it will be.

As her sister all I can do is wait, “behind my cage of protection”, and hope that she learns her lessons to the point that she can free herself from a repetitive cycle of self-destruction. I want to help her but the help she wants only perpetuates her cycle. Like a good friend reminded me recently, “They have to want help“. Very true.