The Ruby

Background
Dianne W is Residency Coordinator for our department (in a medical school), and has worked in close physical proximity to me for the past two years. A week ago Wednesday evening, I was visiting with a friend, exploring a new career path. I expressed the fear that this path was not a practical choice at this time or place.

The Dream
Thursday morning, Dianne told me a dream she'd had the previous night in which I had played a part. In her dream, I was a resident, and she was training me. We both were wearing doctor's White Coats, but she was not giving me medical training. Instead, she was teaching me how to cut a ruby.

Well, I had cut a ruby with a very intricate design. She studied it, then patted my hand and said, "That's very nice, but it's not very practical." To which I responded, "Well, I don't want to be impractical," and promptly threw the ruby away.

Dianne immediately went to the trash bucket, and began digging to retrieve this precious stone I had thrown away.

Now, as a lay person interested in the theories of Carl Jung, I'm aware that odds are the dream has more to do with Dianne than it does with me. But Jung also was interested in the phenomen he called "synchronicity". This dream, in which this dream character with my face is concerned about practical choices at the same time that I am, seems a clear case of synchronicity.

Contemplation
Prior to hearing this dream, rubies had little meaning to me, aside from the knowledge they were a bright red precious stone. As I say, I suspect the dream speaks more to Dianne than it does to me, but I did appropriate the stone for use in the poem "ruby stars", which appears a couple of entries below (Sat, Feb 7, 9:27 am).

Late Friday afternoon, I told Dianne about my sense of this "practical" coincidence. As I've done here, I simply said I was considering a new career path, but was fearful of its impracticality. When hearing of this coincidence between the dream player and myself, Dianne said, "Perhaps you should listen to that."

Well, I am, my friend.