I rarely remember my dreams anymore, which made last night’s dream all the more striking. Here’s what it was.
I was waiting in line for something, I don’t remember what. A woman (whom I’d never met) came up to me and pointed out a penny on the ground. It was dirty, grimy, stuck to the ground with gum – in a word, disgusting. She asked if I would pick it up and give it to her. She didn’t want to do it herself, she said, because the penny was so repulsive.
I did as she asked. Then, after she left, I complained to my friend that the woman should either have gotten the penny herself, or let it go, but under no circumstances should have asked me to do it. My friend agreed. Here endeth the dream.
Now, I’m not one of those people who think dreams are prophetic, or that they represent some deep insight into the psyche. But this particular dream does have the feel of a fable or myth, don’t you think?
Who wants to interpret my dream? 🙂
Brian D. Buckley 
The money represents the western socio-economic model, burdened by guilt and waste. You picking it up and giving it away represents the plight of the workers under western capitalism, doing dirty jobs to benefit others. Believing the woman should have done it herself, but neither refusing to do it nor saying anything to her represents the self-oppression of the American Dream: people don’t change the structures that support the rich because they secretly believe they will become rich.
Waiting represents the sense that life is imperfect. The penny represents improvement. The woman represents society. By reaching into the filth to bring out the improvement at no benefit to yourself, you are acting selflessly.
*applause* 🙂