Oddly enough, just shortly before I read Thomas Petruzzelli Sr.’s article, “The Fear Factor,” I recalled a dream that I had had many years ago.  I thought of sharing it here, in the hope that it might help someone, but it seemed so personal that I hesitated.  Tom Sr’s. article was a sign that I must share it.

I had been going through an extremely rough time, the details of which I will omit for reasons of privacy.  Suffice it to say that peace eluded me in every quarter of my life.  One night, I dreamed that I was swimming in a large fountain in my back yard (in waking life, there is no such fountain).  I swam furiously because I was being pursued by something evil   Close behind me, I felt a hot, foul breath on my neck and the air rent with the snap of malicious teeth.  I turned in mid-stroke to face my pursuer and my blood ran cold.  Behind me was a school of sharks: large, hungry sharks almost upon me.   A voice said clearly, “These are your fears.”   As that thought went through me, I turned again to see the sharks morphing into harmless, friendly, frolicking dolphins, and my heart lightened. 

When I awoke, I did so with a sense of empowerment.  The voice in the dream had advised me that fear is but a matter of perspective, and that it was in my power to effect change — which I then did.   If anyone who reads this is suffering emotionally, I hope that it has helped you in some way.