A Dream, A Death, and the Dance of Life

In my previous post, I shared synchronicities that Salma Hayek had with the poem The Prophet which were like dreams that came true for her. Dreams she held in her heart. Salma quoted this line from the poem in the talk she gave after receiving the Kahlil Gibran 'Spirit of Humanity' Award: "Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity." This line appears in the section of the poem that speaks about death.

I was deeply moved by Salma's story about how she was introduced to The Prophet via her grandfather and find it so beautiful how one poem can add so much depth of meaning to so many lives. It is truly magical the stories that unfold when one's heart connects with this poem. I shared my story of how this poem was introduced into my life in an earlier post. If you haven't read it or would like to read it again, it is located here.

Now onto the story...

As I have shared before, on November 23, 2013 I discovered this book at my Grandma Dorie's house during a time when I would stay with her some weekends to keep her company when my Grandpa Ralph had temporarily moved into a retirement community. When my Grandpa moved out it was very hard on my Grandma as they had been married for over 50 years by this point so it was, obviously, not an easy change to adjust to for either of them. Adding even more stress was the fact that my Grandpa's health was a growing concern at this time and he seemed to be getting increasingly skinny and weak. Thankfully, my Grandpa Ralph lived in this retirement community for only a few months, if that, and then decided to move home. I believe he experienced a change of heart while living in the retirement community. As I look back on this now, I have a strong feeling he knew that he didn't have much longer to live and in his heart he desired to die at home.

Shortly before my Grandpa Ralph arrived back at home, I remember hearing my Grandma Dorie talk with him on the phone while he was still at the retirement community and he had told her that he wanted to come home. My Grandma responded by saying something like, "Yes, your family wants you home, Ralph. Come home." Whatever she said exactly, it touched my heart so deeply. My Grandma felt so much relief knowing he was moving home and I felt relieved as well because I could see how stressful the situation was for both of them and my family. When my Grandpa arrived at home I honestly felt like I was looking at a different person because I witnessed an emotional side of him I had never seen before. I believe his heart was opening up because he knew his life was nearing its end. While living in the retirement community I think that he may have experienced his own sort of "life review" by looking deeply at the life he had lived to see what was ultimately important to him: the place he loved to call home and his family.

At one point, while I was in another room, I could hear my Grandma and Grandpa talking in the kitchen. For the first time, I heard my Grandpa start crying. He shared with my Grandma, in his own way, that he wished he would have expressed more love and affection to his family. He broke down and sobbed as he shared this from his heart. He said he wasn't good at expressing love because he had grown up in a household that didn't express a lot of love and affection, though I believe he still knew that he was very much loved. My Grandma tried to comfort him and I heard her say, "It's okay, Ralph." I am thankful that I was able to hear this powerful, yet tender moment between them because it holds a deep message that I feel my heart needed to hear. Shortly after this, I went into the kitchen when I felt I wouldn't intrude on their intimate conversation. I walked in as my Grandpa was heading to go sit in his favorite chair in the living room. As he was looking out the window he said to me, "Sarah, I never should have left." I said, "It's okay, Grandpa." Then he said,  "I missed the view from my chair." I then shared with him that I didn't see his moving out as a mistake which is the truth. From my perspective, I feel that him moving out is what helped him to gain more perspective on his life and to look at it more closely with the vision of his heart. I did not share this with him, though I wish I would have. I kept things short and sweet and simply told him that what mattered is that he was home now.  (I share more of my perspective about this, and more synchronicities involved in the story, in a Pecha Kucha presentation I gave in January 2017. If your heart desires to watch and listen to that story, here is the link: http://www.pechakucha.org/presentations/synchronicity-eye-on-the-surprise )

Later in the day, I asked my Grandma and Grandpa if I they wanted me to leave since my Grandpa was now home and also because I had been sleeping in his bed (they had separate bedrooms) but my Grandpa told me that he wanted me to stay. It's amazing how a simple statement like that can touch your heart so deeply. In a mysterious way, I felt honored to be staying with them during such an intimate point in their lives.

The day my Grandpa Ralph moved home from the retirement community became the first night in many years that he and my Grandma Dorie slept in the same bed. I can't even put it into words how beautiful this was in my eyes. I felt like I was witnessing a deep healing moment in their hearts and the heart of my family during this time and I felt so honored to see, hear, and feel all that I did. I value how deeply meaningful life is and this was my kind of deep. So, it was on this night that I slept in my Grandpa's room which was directly across the hall from my Grandma Dorie's room where they shared the same bed. Simple and yet so profound at the same time. And it was on this night, which was December 8, 2013 that I received a powerful gift----a dream inspired by a message in The Prophet. 

The reason I remember the exact night I had this dream is because I recorded it in my dream journal. When I experience a profound dream I record it right away so that I don't forget any details and because I believe they are truly gifts that hold deep messages that speak directly to one's heart and soul. It's not every night that I experience a profound dream such as the one I am about to share. This was a once in a lifetime dream, for it is said that one doesn't step into the same river twice.

Artwork: The Spirit of Flight by Josephine Wall (This is the image on the cover of my dream journal.)

I awoke at midnight to record this dream:

"I was standing on one side of a table while my Grandma Dorie and Grandpa Ralph were sitting in chairs on the other side of it. I began explaining to them how I see an ending as the beginning of something new and that endings and beginnings are part of the same thing, like they are one. As I was explaining this, I put my hands together, interweaving my fingers in a way that people do when they are praying. Then I said that I believe that when we die we go "Home," wherever "Home" may be. I said to them, "If I made it here (meaning Earth) safely, why wouldn't I make it home safely?" After I said this, my Grandpa Ralph's face lit up and he seemed to like and agree with what I had said. He had looked very old and hunched over sitting at the table but then once I said the part about going "Home" he lit up in such a beautiful way. Then I shared with them that I love the saying, "When we die and the Earth gets our limbs, that's when we truly dance." After I said this my Grandma Dorie then lit up and she began to dance all around with so much vibrancy. I was elated watching her dance! I yelled to her, "You're dancing with the wind!!" Then, before I knew it the dream shifted and I was walking with my Grandma. She told me that I didn't need to stay with her anymore because she would be staying with a friend. I felt a sense that my Grandpa had died because I was walking with her only. I told her that I understood."

It wasn't until I had awoke from this dream that I realized that something I had said in it was a line from The Prophet, though I didn't say it right. The actual verse from the poem that I had been referring to is: "And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."  

After I had recorded this dream around midnight I fell back asleep and when I awoke in the morning I could very clearly hear my Grandma and Grandpa having a deep conversation in the living room. What they were talking about gave me goosebumps as it made me recall my dream. They were both sharing their beliefs about death and dying and what they believe happens when we die. I heard my Grandma ask my Grandpa if he was afraid to die and he very calmly said, "No." My Grandma shared that she believes our spirit leaves our body and goes to Heaven. I recall that my Grandpa agreed with her. Hearing them talk about their beliefs about death after having a dream where I had talked to them about my beliefs about death was beyond words powerful and beautiful. I only wish I would have gotten out of bed to join their conversation, but I didn't want to intrude on their intimate moment.

A little over three months after I had this dream about talking to my grandparents about death and then hearing their own conversation about death, my Grandpa Ralph died at his home in his bedroom on the morning of March 24, 2014 at the age of 87. It brings me to tears sharing this story because I do hold regret for not opening up to my Grandpa more before he died. I wanted to so badly but I was afraid for various reasons. I knew my dream had been telling me that he didn't have much longer to live and yet I was afraid to talk with him about deep heartfelt things in life. I, too, struggle with showing a lot of love and affection with those closest to me but I continue to work to change this about myself. I'm thankful for this dream and this story I have to share about my grandparents because it inspires me to listen to what my heart is saying, which is to express more love and affection in the world and to share more of what is in my heart. I have arrived at a point in my life where I feel like I have enough courage to share more of who I truly am. I have learned that it truly does take courage to open your heart, sharing who you truly are, to give love and affection because then you become vulnerable. But I have also learned that this is what life is about which means it's all worth it in the end, no matter the pain you become vulnerable to by opening your heart and following its lead in the dance of life. In the lyrics of the song 'Smoke Alarm' by Carsie Blanton: "Your heart is in a bird cage, singing in your chest. You wanna shut it up but give it a rest. You're gonna die one day....We'll go singing to the smoke alarms. We'll dance into the ground."

"My Heart Is Captured" by Amanda Cass

Salma Hayek Sees the Magic of The Prophet

Not long ago, as I was searching for Youtube videos about Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" I made the awesome discovery that Salma Hayek had produced an animated film inspired by the book which is obviously titled, "The Prophet." It came out in 2014. I had no idea this movie existed so it was an incredible surprise. As I searched more, I found interviews and talks with Salma where she revealed why Kahlil and this poem of his means so much to her. What she shared in a particular talk blew me away and touched me deeply because the meaning she sees in the poem goes as deep as the meaning I see and also because she experienced some very powerful "meaningful coincidences" with Kahlil and "The Prophet" that are undeniable.

If anyone would like to listen to Salma talk about the inspiration and magic she feels in connection with this poem and poet, I recommend listening to a particular talk she gave at the 2015 Kahlil Gibran "Spirit of Humanity" Awards Gala that was held in Washington DC on April 29, 2015. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBxHpcxtZn0 What I am going to share in this post is largely taken from the talk she gives in that video. So if you'd rather hear about the magic directly from her, then don't read any further.

I simply love that Salma uses the word "magic" in her story about what "The Prophet" and Kahlil Gibran mean to her because I, too, have felt the magic, which I have shared about in my previous posts. MAGIC is simply the best word to describe the experiences of synchronicity!! Those who have had these profound experiences would probably all agree to this, I am assuming. If not, well then, they are missing out.

Salma's relationship with Kahlil Gibran and "The Prophet" began when she was a child. She learned about the poem through her grandfather, as she used to see the book sitting on a table next to his bed. The particular book she saw had a self-portrait drawing of Kahlil on the cover and she found it to be mysterious. She felt Kahlil resembled her grandfather in that drawing.

Kahlil Gibran self-portrait

Salma shared that she learned about something very, very important from her grandfather when she was six years old: Death. He was the first person in her family and who was close to her that died. She thanks him for that because, in her words, "only by confronting death, we truly begin to ponder upon the mysteries and the meaning of life."

Later on in life, she doesn't remember exactly when, maybe in her late teens, Salma rediscovered "The Prophet" at a friend's house and borrowed it. Through the poem, she felt she found her grandfather again. She shared that it really felt he was talking to her through the words of Kahlil Gibran. She felt a profound personal experience but then learned there is millions of people all around the world who have shared the same kind of connection with this book. I am grateful to be one of the millions who have been so deeply touched by this poem.

Salma's inspiration to turn "The Prophet" into an animated film blossomed from her powerful personal experience with the poem. She shared that making this dream a reality was the most difficult thing she has ever done in her life. I think that life rewarded her greatly for doing it though...by gifting her with MAGIC.

After four years of working on the film, a dream of hers came true in what she sees as "the magical month of April." The film had its first premiere for its release in Beirut and then its release in Lebanon. This was the first red carpet premiere Beirut had ever had and it was a HUGE deal because Kahlil Gibran was originally from Lebanon. And Salma Hayek is part Lebanese as her grandfather was Lebanese. Her heritage makes her story even more special. Salma also shared that another dream of hers came true in the magical month of April which was by simply being able to visit Lebanon with her family. She had been dreaming of going there for many years and had tried four times before without luck because something would happen that would stop the trip. Thankfully, nothing stopped her from going there to show the film and finally see the land and people she shares her roots with. Salma feels this quote from "The Prophet" embodies how she feels about her dreams coming true: "Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity."

While in Lebanon, Salma visited the Kahlil Gibran museum where his tomb is located. It lies beneath the museum. Kahlil died on the 10th day in the "magical month of April" of 1931. These are his beautiful words that are on his epitaph: "I am alive like you, and I am standing beside you. Close your eyes and look around, you will see me in front of you."

The final bit of "magic" that Salma shared in her awards speech gave me goosebumps, which are a sure sign that I am feeling the "magic." The exact day that Salma received the Kahlil Gibran 'Spirit of Humanity' Award marked the anniversary of her grandfather's death. It's hard to put into words the meaning behind this and the rest of the "magic" she experienced as her dreams came true in connection with Kahlil and "The Prophet." The magic can definitely be felt though when you really pay attention to the unfolding of her story.

I agree with Salma that if you don't believe in magic you are really missing out. Salma says it best with this quote: "Magic is a fun adventure and it's in all of us. You just have to believe in it. Only magic can make anything possible."