Embracing the Winds...

Two nights ago, I had a dream about tornadoes.

I could see them. Their ominous parallel swirls lurked in the distance somewhere between the clouds and the decidedly urban skyline. These funnels swiveled closely to each other then spun away—lethal belly-dancers.

The dream felt real. My heart throbbed. My eyes were wide. I had to get to safety.

Tornadoes twist into my dreams every now and then. I wouldn’t call them frequent dreams, but they are certainly a reoccurring image. Part of this could be that I grew up in Northwest Ohio—the weather in March and April is volatile, and forget the euphemisms (In like a lion, out like a lamb…April showers bring May flowers); the weather in Northwest Ohio, especially out in the rural areas, is hungry. I don’t know how else to say it. There is an appetite to that weather that feels voracious. Those storms and winds will consume whatever they want—hungry, angry monsters.

Growing up, there was a thrill to hearing those tornado sirens go off around town, the high pitched, blaring groan. The land is so flat. In the country, you could see for miles and miles; tornadoes spawning and disintegrating. In town, all you could see were the trees limbs tossed by high winds and the green tint in the clouds.

Of course, instead of the sirens driving everyone indoors, the entire neighbor stepped out onto their porches, stood peering up into the sky, offering each other waves. During a typical warning, at least three people would venture outside and say a few words to each other.

I have never experienced a tornado, and I have no desire to; however, my subconscious likes to put me front and center every now and then.

The dreams are made even more interesting given the fact that last night dangerous tornadoes ripped through parts of Iowa. The thunderstorms where I live were so strong that my power blipped off and on at least once.

These May flowers must be animals to require these kinds of showers…

There have been tornado drills, towns sounding their sirens, and someone mentioned these tests in an email. Maybe this is why?

I looked up the dream imagery of tornadoes. What do they mean? I found that they often symbolize upheaval, instability, unpredictability. Sometimes, it could be that there is someone in your life who represents these things. My cats do get a little wild at night.

They also symbolize change. One source claimed that “wind” in dreams can often mean a change is coming. The winds of fate, I suppose.

This last option seems most likely. Whenever I dream of tornadoes, it is because I am experiencing a change on some level.

In my dream, I was not “frightened” by the tornadoes. But, I did seek shelter in my parents’ basement—which was decidedly not the small, dank “dungeon”-like space that it really is. They actually had tenants down there. A young couple. The woman was afraid of her boyfriend. In the end, when I finally met him, he explained that it was the woman who suffered from some emotional problems. I believed him. Lord knows what they represent.

I do not know why I had dual tornadoes in the dream. Maybe two changes are coming. I would like to leave Iowa, and lately, I have been engaging certain sides of myself more fully, in some ways putting the past behind. Emotional upheaval?

Perhaps I should not seek shelter from the winds that are coming. Perhaps I should step outside the comfort and safety of my front door, peer up into those murky clouds, open myself up, and let it sweep me all away…