Jeane: I have an image that I remember, and in it I was opening up a closet door. You are there, nearby, just sort of in the air. You hold up two shoes. They are both different, one is a low-heeled black shoe and the other is more brightly colored. The black shoe is not as attractive as the other shoe, but I focus more attention on it. I notice that it has a non-skid bottom, so it is something I could wear in bad weather. Even though it has a small high heel, it looked like it would be okay in the snow. Then the image disappeared.
When I saw the black shoe, I felt as though that was the shoe I was supposed to, or expected to, select because it was going to be the safe shoe to wear. But I also found it boring. I didn’t get a chance to actually make a decision because at that point I woke up.
John: That image makes for an interesting comparison of two qualities. One shoe is bright and attractive and meets with a certain expectation you may have for your outer appearance. The other shoe is plain, but it has a functional aspect that makes it more practical. Which shoe makes the most sense for you?
You did not get a chance to sort that out. The shoe that is colored is stirring something up in your life, yet it is also something that is going to have to be carried by you – it requires a certain attitude or approach to “pull it off.” The fact that it is a brighter shoe implies that it is closer to the light, which says that something is going to have to occur in you in order for you to be able to wear that shoe.
Typically, the rational mind might say that the brighter shoe is rather gaudy and impractical. The shoe that is black and non-skid seems more appropriate for what needs to be done in your outer life. You are supposed to sense how wearing the black shoe might tend to soothe your nature in some way. It takes a certain pressure off. When you feel that sense of relief, it points to an ongoing dynamic in your life. Relief implies that you won’t have to deal with something, or face something that is challenging you. It is easier. If you put on the sensible black shoe, and don the particular mannerisms that it represents, you are again finding yourself in the situation you confronted in the two dreams earlier in the night: you have chosen to take a step away from an inner disturbance or friction, rather than facing it or assimilating it (to review the thread of the previous two dreams, see Open to Receive and The Comforts of Home).
Again, the other shoe is brighter, it is more colorful, and it will be harder to wear. You don’t know all of its characteristics because it is more hidden in its nature, but being more hidden often points to there being something faster about it, and higher things move faster than lower things. If you were to know its characteristics, you’d see that it’s the kind of shoe that’s going to cause more issues in the outer world because you are going to be… well, you won’t feel as safe and protected. There’s risk involved. The black shoe is boring to you, so deep down, had you been given the chance, your higher self would have realized that you needed to be out there taking a little more risk, rather than lapsing back into the safe and sensible.
