In Our Dreams - Omer Day 32

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

Tell me the story of the river and the valley and the streams and woodlands and wetlands, of shellfish and finfish. A story of where we are and how we got here and the characters and roles that we play. Tell me a story, a story that will be my story as well as the story of everyone and everything about me, the story that brings us together in a valley community, a story that brings together the human community with every living being in the valley, a story that brings us together under the arc of the great blue sky in the day and the starry heavens at night.                                                  --Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth

In our dreams 
we live,
fully, wholly. 
Perhaps these are the dreams of the night
from our semi-conscious 
state of sleep,
or perhaps these are the dreams of the day
from our more conscious 
waking hours.

What are our dreams?
What are our aspirations?
What are our passions 
that touch the depths of our heart and soul?
What brings us to life?
What keeps us alive?

What keeps us in relationship?
What holds us through pain and chaos?
What keeps us going forward
when a piece of us wants to turn and flee?
What makes us hold on
when a part of us wants to let go?



What allows us to let go
when a part of us wants to hold on
forever and ever and ever
even when we know
that it cannot
and perhaps should not
be?

Tell me the story of the river and the valley and the streams and woodlands and wetlands, of shellfish and finfish. A story of where we are and how we got here and the characters and roles that we play. Tell me a story, a story that will be my story as well as the story of everyone and every thing about me, the story that brings us together in a valley community, a story that brings together the human community with every living being in the valley, a story that brings us together under the arc of the great blue sky in the day and the starry heavens at night.                                                --Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth

In our dreams we live.



Today is Day 32, which is four weeks and four days of the Omer.
Today is Day 32, which is four weeks and four days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as a Nature Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is a co-convener and coordinator of the Boston-based Jewish Climate Action Network.