‘The Dream Catcher’

I am a person who always dreams, I dreamt of fantasies, unusual and strange dreams that creeps out in my head.

When I was a kid I had this strange dream where I saw myself and my friends wearing the typical attire of Filipinas before, we were wearing Filipiñana, and seems everything was real. But to tell you, I was thinking about it before I dreamed about it, which means, I, my mind, probably made that dream manifest in my head.

However, some dreams were so strange and unexplainable, some say they're just common and should be nothing to worry about, while others believe that dreams are trying to tell us something.

And for me, I honestly don't know. Some part of me is trying to believe that my dreams are natural, common, but some part of me is saying they're trying to say something to me and I should figure it out for myself.

Then, those dreams introduced me to be curious even more. I wanted to stop them but how could I? If only I could filter those bad dreams and accept only the good ones, I’ll do it. Then, here's what I discovered.

Way back in my teenage years, I became hooked with this stuff they call ‘dream catcher’. Are you familiar with it?

My phone was full of dream catcher wallpapers during those days. I was addicted to it because of its looks, however, something is interesting about dream catchers.

Image by @phuhunter142 from Unsplash

It is circle-shaped stuff that has webs in the center and is designed with feathers as its tail.

A dream catcher is believed to trap the unpleasant dreams by its webs and let only the good dreams enter. This should be placed and hung on the window for effectiveness. And me, I don't believe in such things, there is no way dreams could be trapped and filtered.

Then in the year 2015, I was working in a huge mall in the city. Monthly, there was always an expo, and I remember when there was a Korean fair held at the said mall. I am in my first week of duty, and my coworkers mistook me as a contestant in the Korean fair because of my petite body and hairstyle, with bangs. Lol. 🤣

Getting back to my main topic, there was a fair that I couldn't forget, my eyes were starstruck when I saw there was a dream catcher fair being held just a few stalls away from my workplace. I can't wait until break time at that moment. I was too excited to see dream catchers with my eyes. Since I only see them in pictures.

After the lunch break, I immediately went to the booths where dream catchers were exhibited. I was mesmerized by what I saw. The whole area was full of different dream catchers and I felt I was dreaming. From pink, purple, rainbow, I saw different designs of it with different shapes too, there were small, medium, large and extra-large sizes that were truly magnificent.

Since I have no money in my pocket, I can't afford to buy one. Yet, I asked one of the sellers if they'll be exhibiting for days, and luckily, he said they'll be staying there for 3 days.

I felt so lucky that moment since, after that day, it's my day off. I told my boyfriend (my husband currently) that I have to go to the mall during my off. He accompanied me and I showed him the fair which I talked about with him nonstop. 😅

I badly wanted to buy one for myself, because those days, I was obsessed with dream catchers. But when I asked the merchant about the prices, I was a bit shocked, they were too expensive!

Since I am only a common laborer who earns minimum wage, I can't afford the price. The price range before was 300 PHP to 500 PHP and up.

I was ready to go home with dismay when I saw a medium-sized dream catcher in one of the booths. It was brown as well as its tail feathers. I asked the seller and I got it for the price of 120 PHP. I was so happy that day, finally, I have a dream catcher of my own, it's not so elegant just like the other but it mattered to me a lot.

Those times I was still renting a room in a boarding house, I placed the dream catcher on the window, but I am not hoping for nightmares to be filtered. I just enjoyed how my room became lovely because of that dream catcher.

But I just don't know, if it was just a coincidence, my dreams were not as strange as before, though I still have bad dreams sometimes but I experienced them lesser.

Or maybe it's because of the power of the mind, I established in my head that I will be receiving good dreams because I believe the dream catcher will help me ease with the bad ones. May it be true or not, I just love my dream catcher.

And to tell you, because it means a lot to me, I still have that dream catcher with me. ☺

It just looked old and rugged unlike before. Due to oldness, some feathers were also torn down. And this is how it looks like as of today.

Until this very moment, I still love to see this dream catcher in our room, it may look old but what matters to me is the sentiment I experienced with it.

And for me, this dream catcher is just one of the instruments that could help you ease your unpleasant dreams. It doesn't totally and directly filter the bad ones, but it helps you by giving your mind a sense of comfort, just like in me, because I fulfilled my yearning for having one, until today, I still feel the feeling of satisfaction of my little happiness.

Yet, the one to help you the most in fighting those bad dreams is you, yourself, and no one else and nothing else more.

Pray, give yourself peace of mind before you sleep, and avoid making negative thoughts before you close your eyes. It all starts with you, by the way how you condition your body and mind.

Ps: It's my actual story and all photos are mine unless asserted. Thanks for reading. 💚

Written by: @eommaZel 🥀