I had a dream...

No, this is not a Martin Luther King reference. I really did have a dream while I was sleeping. When I had it (about a year ago) I was already planning my adventure around the world. At the time, I had no idea where I was going to start or even exactly WHEN. One day I was thinking about starting in South America, and the next day, I was sure it was going to be Asia the next. As my friend Steve said, I was a "candle in the wind" - and he always said it complete with hand movement flickering back and forth. Anyhow, this dream was very vivid. I was in a smallish town, or even a village, along the water. It was a slightly overcast day and I just walked down onto the pier and got onto a small ferry/boat. it was a short boat ride that took "us" on calm water in between/among islands or coast with trees. I got off the boat at a stop and walked towards the trees... And that's where it ended. To me, it was just another dream. I have many dreams, although not always as vivid, so I thought nothing of it. 

A few days ago, in Oslo, I went for a ferry ride to one of the many islands in the Oslofjord. Initially, I was not hit with an overwhelming reminder of the dream. In fact, it was the furthest thing from my mind! Part of it was that I was running late so I was running to catch the boat. I knew what time it left, but I didn't know the exact departure location as there are many boats on this long dock. Even when I asked somebody, I was given well-intentioned misinformation, but I made it anyway!

Although it wasn't quite as dramatic as me leaping onto a moving boat, I did only make it with seconds to spare. So for the first 5 minutes of the ride I was still catching my breath (yes, I am out of shape!) and not fully enjoying the scenery. Then, behind me, I heard people speaking something that sounded like Spanish. I say something, because I know I recognized some Norwegian words and some English words. I ended up striking up conversation with two women (a third had just gone down below) and found out that they WERE speaking Spanish, AND Norwegian, AND English. You'll see why in a minute. One woman was Peruvian, the other Costa Rican. Both had married Norwegian men many years ago and had come to live in Oslo. So among themselves, they spoke Spanish. The younger one was a daugher of the Columbian woman, and didn't speak Spanish that well, so with her, they spoke Norwegian. And, since Norwegians begin learning English in the 1st grade, they speak very good English and commonly speak Norwenglish. (like Spanglish?) Anyhow, I when we got to the island, I ended up spending the rest of the day with them. 

As we approached the island, I started to get the feeling of "I've seen this before". Once on the island, I looked back and saw the houses on a hill in Oslo and realized that I HAD seen this before in my dream. What makes matters even more bizarre, the Columbian woman even talked about 6th sense, and premonitions and dreams without me mentioning it. Hmmmm... 

To me, the decision to come to Oslo was somewhat arbitrary and somewhat circumstance. I wanted to start in the Northern hemisphere because of the time of year and the fact that I like good weather. :) I figured it would be good to start further north and move my way south, like a bird migrating for the winter. Finally, it FELT right. When I envisioned myself in South America, or Asia, it did nothing for me, but when I envisioned myself starting in Norway, I got a warm feeling. So I trusted my gut. In the end, Oslo made sense, but it was a decision I made about a month before my departure.

Bottom line is this: We often dream, we sometimes remember, and even fewer times are we able to find meaning in it. I wish I could say I was consciously following my dream, but the reality is, I can't explain it. It was just a gut feeling. I do believe however, is that I am on the right path for my life right now. I've seen a familiar road sign, and I will continue on this trail and continue trusting my gut!