Sunday, January 30, 2005

Musings on dreams and friendships

In between being asleep and awake I had a strange dream this morning that sent me back to college - a reunion actually. I was sitting at a table with some of my good friends and I just kept seeing person after person from college that I haven't thought of in a loooooong time. They were sitting at other tables or wandering around the hall. None of these acquaintances stopped to chat - but there they were, in my dream.

Last night I went to dinner with a friend and to my immediate left was a group of 5 college-aged boys who were talking (as my friend said "like I do with my girlfriends!") about relationships and meeting someone not connected to school and all those things that really do need to be discussed with close friends. It was fun to eavesdrop and catch some of the wisdom they had for one another. They discussed how it would be harder post-college to meet people - friends and dates - and how they were a little nervous about that.

And, yeah, outside of institutions of like-minded people it is hard to meet people. I've yet to really try to do it. I've always been in an institution of some sort. But, it has gotten harder post-college.

My friends - those who I sat with in my dream - are similar in some ways, but hugely different in others - from me and from one another. In seminary, my friends are much more similar - although our differences are surely evident. And, once I leave this place it's hard to imagine that I will meet much of a diversity of people - but I hope so. And, as I get older the friends that I do have get more diverse within their own lives. Marriage, babies, careers, living in different places will do that.

There's no moral - just some of my thoughts as I ponder my dream.


1 comment:

Abba said...

How was your cruise?