Dreamt Kindness

I slept in today, and I am so glad I did, because this morning I had such a VIVID dream. I didn’t realize until I was in the shower thinking about it that I DREAMED ABOUT KINDNESS.  I love it!  Maybe that is the type of thing that can happen if we surround ourselves with kindness – we can even experience it while sleeping!

In my dream, I was in the house I grew up in on Borman Street in Omaha, Nebraska.  But the feel of the neighborhood was not like it had been when I lived there in real life…   In the dream, my house was full of Muslims who had come to America expecting to be accepted, and the street was filled with protesters who were angry that the foreigners were there.  The protesters were all dressed in WHITE.  We were preparing for a MARCH through the neighborhood, and the protesters came and were very, very mad.

I stared out the window at the angry people outside and worried.  I was not sure how to explain it to my friends who were almost ready to march.  What would I tell them?  I worried for their safety.  I stepped out onto the front porch to assess the scene and noticed a woman dressed in PURPLE in the neighboring driveway.  As I approached her I realized – she was KIND.  She was on “our side”.  She was there to be supportive! 

I looked up and down the street and saw that the angry mob dressed in white were all standing on the LEFT side of the street, and this woman in purple was on the right.  Then I saw them – other people in purple – standing every few houses along the march route.  They had come out to support us, to support love.

I thanked the woman in purple and gave her a hug.  She radiated kindness and her smile gave me strength.  I went back into the house and told my friends that, indeed, there were many angry people outside who were sure to yell things at us as we marched the route.  And then I told them about the supportive people, the kind ones, dressed in purple.  And I told my friends, “As we march, look to the right.  There is KINDNESS on the right”.

I woke up before we all stepped outdoors and faced the scene, so, like many dreams, I am not sure how this one ended.  But I have seen the kind people at protests in “real life”.  They are the quiet ones, the calm ones.  They provide balance to the hatred and the screaming.  I am grateful for them. 

I think THESE people are who inspired my dream.  They are UUs - Unitarian Universalists. 
UUs STAND ON THE SIDE OF LOVE and show up at many rallies.  They are amazing. 
These UUs were at an Arlington, VA high school November 2012 when
Westboro Baptist Church was planning to come protest.

This high school student was at the same rally.  He got up EARLY
 and showed up with his sign on a day there wasn't even any school.  He was kind.

I saw this billboard was in Topeka, KS near the Westboro Baptist Church. 
Isn't it fabulous?

This is my WHOLE FAMDAMILY (most of us) at a PFLAG march in Omaha, Nebraska the summer of 2015.  There were a few protesters along the route that were not happy with our message of equality, but as Jordan's sign says, love is greater than hate.



This man was a tourist from Italy.  He happened across the Westboro Baptist Church protest at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, 2012.  We explained what was happening to him and let him hold our sign. 
He was on the side of kindness.

Us at the 2012 Veterans Day WBC protest at Arlington National Cemetery.  The message is simple - BE KIND.

I am thankful for all who stand up for equality and kindness for ALL.  May Martin Luther King’s dream live on in all of us. 

And may dreams of kindness visit YOU.

Look to the right - there is kindness on the right.