I called my sister Els yesterday morning, but our conversation lasted only fifteen minutes, as Els has been busy this day with visits from son Peter and friend Jeltsje. She said she’d forgotten I would call, so we kept our conversation short, whereas we usually talked for an hour. Today also was my last day two weeks ago of my family visit in Holland and one week since my eighty-first birthday! While making breakfast this morning, I gave thanks for all I have and enjoy at my age today!

I awoke from an intense dream, which I feel a need to report this morning, but will do that below under “Writings”. On Friday I visited with Don as we met at the ‘Kingsland’ market. He’d brought me some fresh home grown tomatoes and potatoes. Thanks Don! Home grown produce is best. I shopped for some cherries, apples, prunes and purple beans, which turn green when cooked! Don gave me a ride home, which I much appreciate.

An old obligation of mine: To translate from Dutch into English the document that my Dad composed for all his grandchildren, being a statement of his faith and conviction.

On Saturday I did some sorting and finally acquitted myself of a long standing obligation. That is I translated from Dutch into English the document that my Dad composed for all his grandchildren, being a statement of his faith and conviction. It is date July 11, 1975 forty years after my parents married and was signed by both of them. This document is rolled up and resides inserted into the shaft of a copper key with a beard in the shape of the letter E, standing for “Evangelie” - gospel - or the Glad Tidings of the Christian message.

Doing this translation was quite moving to me, as it made me aware of the values and beliefs that sustained my parents for all those years and they felt to be of sufficient import to pass on to their Grandchildren. In his later years my Dad in particular felt a bit like a patriarch and acted like one too, my mother was more down to earth, but also knew the value of faith and belief. This notion was also passed on to me, but I reworked the traditions to fit my own times and I am still busy with that. A patriarch too? Maybe the apostle that I wanted to be at the age of ca ten!

I call this dream ‘My Breaking Out’. The dream starts with me wanting to put something into my car in the parkade at SAIT my former workplace and now torn down. This would save me an extra trip later on I thought, so in my dream I enter the parade’s stair well. This soon turns into some sort of climbing tower like one of a building crane. As I climb higher and higher, I tell myself not to look down as I might loose my nerve, freeze or fall even. “I’m at dizzying heights” I feel in my dream.

I realise that my removing it will leave the structure weakened and I resolve to let the designers know this.

As I reach the top I find my way blocked by u-shaped reinforcing steel type bars. ‘A small person or constrictor snake could get through, but not me’ I think in my dream. So, I start to forcefully wrench the u-shaped bar up and down. To my surprise it gives way and comes loose from its vertical posts. This allows me to advance to the next such U-bar blocking my way. That one too gives way more easily than I expected. Now I have to remove one more such bar a little further ahead of me. I realise that my removing it will leave the structure weakened and I resolve to let the designers know this.

Now the scene of my dream changes and I am in the basement cafeteria of the so called ‘Tower Complex‘, still at my former workplace SAIT. At the food and service counter I am trying to explain to the staff there, that the box of food I have is quite nourishing, but they don’t know it and are not convinced. I tell them it is made by ‘De Gruyter’ a now defunt but reliable defunct grocery chain in Holland, I tell them. They don’t know the chain. I say it was like Albert Heijn - a present chain even today also in Holland at present, but not that big. The staff remains unconvinced until I show them that in the bottom of the box I hold, there are chocolate bars like ‘mini hot dogs’ I tell them. At that I can proceed and get my other food.

Why not go outside where the sun is and the fresh air?” I say to myself.

With my food I now walk on to find a place to sit and eat. First I notice a small group of former colleagues, but the one talker is at it again and I decide I’ve heard enough of that and move on. Then I spot a well located table but the president and his assistant are in a deep discussion and I feel it is inappropriate to disturb them. I look around some more, circling back and forth. Then I go upstairs and looking out through the doors (of the old Tower rotunda?) I see many people sitting on the grass. ‘Why not go outside where the sun is and the fresh air?” I say to myself. As I proceed to do that all still in my dream … I wake up!.

Thinking about an interpretation of this dream later this morning during breakfast I feel that it represents my journey relating to religion. I have been busy with that subject ever since I left my work place SAIT in 1999! In the dream SAIT is a place of the past for me and also in reality as my former campus has changed much including that demolished parkade.

Particularly the climbing of that ‘tower’ to those scary heights relate to my journey of redefining certain aspects of religion in general to suit our time. In this process I did and do have to get some parts of the given structure out of the way for me to get out of this trap at the top of my climb.

But after noting required design changes, I return back to earth again. There I am busy finding a way to present my ‘food’ and on acceptance - of this my own contribution - I am allowed to proceed. Next I look for a place to ‘sit and eat’, which turns out to be outside in the sun and fresh air.

This latter aspect is something I have to work with, because it shows me ‘the need and nature’ to proceed, except the how-to of daily actions is still obscure to me. But, I will live with it and my intuition processes will come up with a suitable insight in this regard.
That is it.
<9:02am~