The Dream

In 1987, during a trip to Bolivia, I had a dream. 

"I am with a group of friends. We are in a Jeep Cherokee. We are exploring the wilderness of Bolivia. At one point, I decided I must go off alone. When I was on my own, I met a woman and a girl around three years old. The girl is me, the same age as when I left Bolivia. The woman is my mother. She looks just like my mother looked when I was three. The three of us build a fire and create a ritual. It is a very satisfying gathering. Then I went off on my own. I need to cross a very scary bridge. The bridge is made of pebbles and cement. There are no side rails, and it is very narrow. Before I cross the bridge, I trip and end up in a puddle, but only one side of me gets wet. One side of me is totally wet, and the other side is totally dry. But I knew I must cross the bridge, so I started. Halfway over the bridge, the sun was very bright, and I decided to let the sun warm me. I look up. The little girl, who is me, is dancing on the bridge in front of me. She is in a very precarious position. She dances while she speaks English about computers. I feel content in the warm sun, the warm, healing sun. Finally, I got up, finished crossing the bridge, and found my friends in the Jeep Cherokee. I feel a sense of integration I have never felt."

The dream is rich with many archetypical, cultural, and personal meanings. In my dream, I found a creative resolution to the conflict of my cultural identity. In 1992, I animated this dream. The last frame is a painterly image of me, with my arms spread out over the bridge and the mountains. I am divided in half, with one half a light color and the other half a dark color.