CROCODILE TEARS

Melissa C. from Oregon told me about her dream:

My apartment unit has people of all races, religious affiliations and sexual preferences.  So in the dream I’m in my 2^nd-floor apartment looking down into the swimming pool area. My wife and I decide we’re going down to join some of the other tenants we’ve known for a while.

In real life, there is one new tenant, Laura, we haven’t met yet.  We had heard Laura was gay, so we felt something in common with her.

In the dream, my wife and I talk with Laura for some time and she seems to be a nice person… simpatico.  Then my wife pulls me aside and says, “I don’t know.  There’s something off about her.”  I don’t want to judge Laura without getting to know her, so I sit beside her and we talk about our pets.

At one point, Laura tells me about how her cat had run away, and she starts crying.  I sympathize with her.  Half an hour later, my friend who waters my plants when my wife and I take vacation comes up to me.  I mention how I sympathize with Laura for losing her cat.  My friend says, “What?  Melissa, forget that.  She’s never had a cat and all she does is complain about cats and the smell of their litter.”

I’m sort of shocked.  What?  So Laura was doing crocodile tears on me?  I wake up.

In general, the setup of the dream is basically simple. 

The party takes place around a swimming pool.  Water traditionally symbolizes emotional territory.  Pets are the givers and recipients of unconditional love and devotion.

This dream is pretty self-evident.  “Crocodile tears” is a popular terminology for insincere and fake tears.   

Melissa’s psyche wants to warn her to be cautious about the sincerity of the new tenant.  In fact, since Melissa has cats, she herself might even become the subject of a complaint  from Laura to management about her cats.

When Melissa spoke to me about her dream, she already suspected this might be the message.  I congratulated her on her interpretation and suggested she keep this in mind whenever interacting with new tenant Laura.

Ain’t dreams great?  I totally encourage  you all to make an effort to remember your dreams.  They raise important red flags in our lives.  Happy snoozling to you all!