After getting some disappointing and personally challenging news yesterday, I had this dream last night.

Among the usual kaleidoscope of dreams was this reassuring scene:

I was standing on the inside of a circle of friends, and I was slightly lower than the rest, as if I were a child again. The person right behind me put her arms around me in a sweet hug. Nothing erotic. Just sweet and reassuring. My wife? My mother? A friend? I twisted around to see who it was, but as so often happens in dreams I couldn’t make out her face, or the faces of any of the others.

I woke feeling a renewal of hope, and the feeling persists as I write this.

Since we moved here several years ago, we’ve found many new wonderful friends, mostly through our common interests in local issues. We’ve seen firsthand the power of community.

This dream is a reassuring reminder to me that none of us is ever alone.