"The Course Of Life" Part I

Montana Mountain Roads, CA to VA Cross Country Military PCS Move 2020

Dreams stand out to me so impeccably vivid. This particular dream had me waking up thinking I had actually been there and wanting to go back to sleep and see more. One of those dreams you could even see as a movie. It had a sort of Pilgrim's Progress feel to it with its own twist.

THE CROWD

I stood in a crowd so large that we all looked like ants in a colony. People of all colors and cultures hemmed me in from all sides. An announcement over a speaker system projected loud enough for all to hear.

"Welcome to our "Course of Life!
You all will be handed a map of the course by a messenger. The only rules are, that the straight road is the one that is the best choice of each road you will encounter. If you stay on it you will reach the end.  

This is not the easiest of tasks however because there will be many distractions along the way. Grand places that will be tempting to stop at or turn into. If you succeed the course, which contains many rights and lefts, you will reach the end and be rewarded.

Pay close attention to the helpers along the way. They will be there in case you need some guidance about anything in the course that doesn't make sense. With that said, take your maps and choose a partner to go along the course with you.  Choose your partner wisely. They will be the one who travels with you to the end. You will know the right one to pick IF you pay attention. There are vehicles in the parking lot to my left. You may pick one and begin your journey through the course of life!"

Scanning the enormous crowd for someone to be my partner, my eyes locked with several. I just knew somewhere deep inside that none of them was the right one. After squeezing and pressing my way through bodies, my eyes met a girl. A girl whose eyes I could see, but the rest of her face was blurred. A girl who was quiet and reserved. My height and frame. I sensed a peace about her. Something I wasn't sensing in the others I had randomly searched. 

She was the one. I walked up to her and asked her if she would be my partner. She immediately consented with a dose of eagerness that she had been picked from so many. An inner joy sprung from her. One that I could feel.

Off we went to grab a car. 

DISTRACTION

We drove through a black gate, much like those in front of a mansion, with large solid stone rectangular pillars flanking either side. I looked down at our map. It was a map unlike anything I'd seen before. Its roads were simple and straightforward, and clearly we could see the right and left roads splattered across it, but no grand buildings or attractions marking the ways. A voice came from the blurred faced girl sitting to my left, driving the car.

"The road we are on is called the "straight" road. I just saw a sign". 

The white picket style sign shaped like an arrow to our left marked the direction we were headed. I noticed how tight the road was where you could barely fit one car on it. "Rather narrow", I thought.

I lost track of time of how long we were on the straight road before we came to the intersection where we spotted our first left and right turn options at a stop sign. We watched as several zoomed around us, veering off the main road to make their left or right turns...Some windows were rolled down since it was a warm and sunny day.

The hollering was growing as a pattern with each and every swerve of their vehicles. Still, many stayed behind us waiting patiently for the light to turn. We continued on till we hit another intersection much like the first, but this time we were met with flashing lights and signs and large buildings of extreme intrigue on the left and right. My partner and I immediately thought distraction. This didn't stop the other drivers though who one by one turned into the parking lots off the side roads and got out to "have some fun" as they called it.

THE HELPER

We then came to an unmarked intersection. No signs. Just open field roads all around us. The straight road no longer went straight but curved around rather circuitously while the road that was the left straightened out in front of us. It was so difficult to determine if these roads has switched. That is when we spotted the helper. She walked up to our car as we looked very confused.

"Hello, can I assist you?"
"Yes, please! We can't figure out which road is straight!"
She replied, "That is something I can't answer, but you will know if you pay attention to the signs and discern."
"But there are no signs." we answered.
"Yes, there are." she said as she disappeared.

Quite surprised by our helper's sudden vanishing, we recollected ourselves searching the fields for invisible signs. 

With a little concentration, they appeared as if they had been cloaked. During this time several had driven around us again yelling obscene things to us and taking the curves with a vengeance and recklessness. The left road had become straight and that is the arrow where our invisible sign, now visible, pointed. 

"Goodness, that was a close one! I sure hope we don't have more tricky roads like this." My partner said.

 

THE RESTING PLACE

Probably about 10 or 15 minutes later we came to another area full of life, energy, and activity. Yet, unlike the others this one was on the straight road. Ahead of us were two people, dressed in beautiful colors of silk, cotton, and every fabric you can think of. 

"Is this a test?" I asked my partner. She looked at me with concern in her eyes.
"Maybe this is one of those distractions."

Just then a black man and a native American man walked up to our windows.

"Come on in." They said.
"Umm, I don't think we're supposed to." I replied.
"Oh no, you must trust us. We mean no harm to you. Come and rest awhile."
"Welcome!"

Their smiles and cheerfulness, the rosiness of their cheeks were so inviting and a warmth permeated my heart. Yet, was this, could this be, a trap? It took a few times of their convincing before she and I both decided this was on course. 

We drove through another gate and discovered a large shopping center full of restaurants and places to just rest along the way. After parking, I noticed how many were being turned away from this place. Curious.

We found a restaurant we liked and ate a meal that satisfied deeper than a meal had ever satisfied. A few people came up to us, who also shared the rosiness of the cheeks and bright complexions. They spoke kindly and assuringly to us. 

"When you're finished here you will go through those gates where the men who greeted you stand and then you will be on your way again. :)"

We finished walking around and enjoying the natural beauty and the scenery of everything. Shops, stores, some of the nicest things you've ever seen. We didn't buy anything because we didn't have money on us. There were no price tags to anything though. We didn't even have to pay for the food! 
When we approached the two men, we asked them.

"Is this a place of distraction they talked about?"

"No, this is a place of rest for your journey. Only those who are truly seeking to stay on the straight and narrow road are allowed to enter here, so congratulations on passing this point and I hope you enjoyed yourself. Blessings on the rest of your course!"

We thanked them and drove away astounded. 

COLORS

Then we came to it. The sky, a brilliant blue hovering over us, meeting the green green grass below it. The colors so vibrant, even the sun so bright it should have blinded, but it didn't somehow. Another road needing to be deciphered stretched out before us. It seemed to go straight but it was also slightly left and there were not three roads to choose from here, nooo...there were five with none going straight. The one road towards the left a little had the most vibrancy in colors, the scenery more gorgeous than you can imagine. The others dulled in comparison. 

"I think it might be this one" I said pointing.
"Alright, maybe.. I guess we'll find out." she replied.

 As we drove down the road farther and farther, the brilliance of colors began to fade. The deeper we drove the darker it became. 

"Maybe the sun is going down." I said. 

 But the deeper we went the darker it began to feel....

If you liked part 1 of this dream, stay tuned for part 2!!

Let me know down in the comments what you thought of it this far!

With love and compassion,