A Stranger

Fue un dia muy extraña. It was a strange day today. 

My new clinic position began at Salvation Army. It is located in a poorer part of the city where many of the people have problems with drugs and such. After my interview I was feeling really excited about volunteering for this organization. Hopefully I can make a difference and learn along the way. I left the office and walked to the metro, taking in the neighborhoods sights and sounds. I did not feel unsafe walking through this area, I only felt a little out of place as every passer by took notice of me which is to be expected because I look different and it could happen to any stranger living in a foreign country. I arrived at the metro and proceeded to descend, where I found a nice place to stand and wait for my train. I saw a man approaching me who looked messed up and confused. He was coming straight for me, weaving in and out of the crowd. I kept a periphery eye on him to see exactly where he was going to land. He stopped about 5 feet away and just stood there staring at me. It was uncomfortable and I felt bad inside because I wanted to turn to him and listen to what he had to say but I was nervous so I ignored him.  As I ignored him it was tearing me up inside. I was thinking that this man is probably ignored or brushed off most of the time. I wanted to acknowledge him but I did not and I felt terrible about my actions. The train came and I moved towards the front, entrance doors of the car thinking that I had moved too fast for him to follow me. What I did not know is that he entered the same passenger car but at the other end. I settled in, wrapped my hand around the metal bar above my head for stability and waited for the train to move ahead. Out of nowhere I heard a man screaming, screaming, screaming at the top of his lungs "hablame guerita, hablame!" which translates to "talk to me white girl, talk to me!".  He did not stop. He continued screaming it over and over again. Due to the fact that I was the only white girl in this particular car everyone knew he was screaming at me. I did not know how to react. Then the man began pushing his way through the crowd towards me as he continued screaming. Just as he was within reaching distance of me the doors to the train opened and I exited. He was right behind me and I turned to him and said "I am sorry but I do not want to talk to you now, and I hope you are ok. Enough!". I turned and walked away feeling guilty. He did not let up and was right behind me as I walked toward my next train. A man that was also on the train watching what had passed gently touched my arm and asked if he could escort me to my transfer. He told me that if his wife or daughter were in the same situation he would hope that someone would assist them. I welcomed the idea. He was very polite and did not ask me any personal questions, in fact he said very little to me. While he waited for me to board my next train he physically and verbally stopped the screaming guy from entering the same train with me. I am very grateful for his kindness. Now it is my turn to return the favor to a stranger...hopefully tomorrow! 

The Miracle Question

The following question, created by de Shazer, is used frequently by Solution Focused therapists. 

Suppose that one night there is a miracle and while you are sleeping the problem that brought you into therapy (or that you are dealing with) is solved: How would you know? What would be different?

What will you notice the next morning that will tell you that there has been a miracle? What will you spouse, friends or family notice?

Many times the solutions that we use to solve a problem only perpetuate the problem.

Dream

I was in the home of my friends located in Utah. It was a beautiful place that sat on the side of a mountain. The back of the home was three levels, each level was floor to ceiling glass windows that allowed the entire view of the west side of the valley to be appreciated. I was with two men and one young girl...I do not remember seeing faces but something about them seemed familiar and I knew we had a strong bond. I was coming down the stairs to the second level moving towards the kitchen. I remember the smell of the food, the brightness of the sunshine coming in through the windows and the feel of the smooth banister under my hand as I descended the stairs. I recall feeling very, very happy. We were having a BBQ and I wanted to go out onto the patio to chat and check progress. Suddenly, I looked towards the Oquirh mountain range and saw a tremendous mushroom cloud rise up behind the mountains and it spread the length of the entire mountain range. I remember saying something like "Oh my god, what's happening".  I recall the many thoughts coming through my mind...meteor shower, war, etc....trying to make sense of what I was witnessing. Following the explosion a wall of water came up over the top of the mountain range like a tidal wave heading straight for us. I remember thinking about the people on the west end of the valley...the ones that were already gone. We ran. I grabbed the girl and we ran. As I ran for the door I recall feeling that it was impossible to outrun this thing, this was it, but I knew because I was still living I needed to keep trying to live and run. So my legs kept moving. I opened the door and looked up at the peaks of the Wasatch mountains and saw another wall of water rolling over the tops of the mountains and ripping apart every living thing along the mountainside. There was nowhere to go. We went back into the house and went to the top floor. We entered a yellow room and sat on the soft carpet. The room was bright and I  turned my back to the window because I wanted to keep my focus on my friends and not the impending doom. I reached out and took their hands and we sat close in a circle. I told each of them how much I loved them and why I was grateful to have them in my life...I also said that I was grateful to be here with them in the end. I remember squeezing their hands so tightly because I was scared. There was not a feeling of regret for things unsaid in my life but I so desperately wanted to live because there was so much that I still wanted to do. The guy on my left was weeping and I held him in my arms and told him I had no idea what was going to happen I did not know if it was going to be ok, but we are here together and I love you. Then the house lifted and we were thrown against the windows which for some reason never broke. We began sliding down the mountain and I knew a big cliff was in our path and that if we made it that far we would plummet over the edge of the cliff. 

Then suddenly I was on the beach standing with all of the survivors of the disaster. I asked someone where this beach had come from and he told me it used to be the west side of the valley and now it is an ocean similar to how it had been so long ago. I looked up and I saw my friends house sliding down the mountain towards us. The house hit the ground and was destroyed I ran towards the home and found my friends all of whom were ok. Then this dream ended and I was in another dream...with a completely different story.