I was first in a small home. It feels like the ceiling is low, it not too low for my height. The interior is made of dark wood but mostly with smooth-edged, grey flagstone/flat granite/slate-like rocks. The home feels rich, but also very natural, ranch style home. There were nice pieces of furniture but there was also leaves in the home: just on the floor or laying on the walls where the stone jutted out. Some seeds and spores have sprouted in corners in the walls and floor. Seedlings of trees, ferns, and other leafy plants sprout from the fallen leaves. There is some natural lighting flooding in. An older woman in modern clothing (long sweater, long skirt, black boots) with short, white and black hair and a serious look on her face lived there. She looked critical, but understanding. It’s just her and when I am here at this home and she is standing and we facing each other. I am at a sunken living room-like part of the home and she is on a slightly upper level. There are short amount (maybe three or four steps) of stone stairs to reach her and she stands at the top of them. I would then move into another natural home that’s made of smooth, shiny, bright wood logs with vaulted ceilings and the ceiling in one part was a big skylight. There were big floor to ceiling windows around the walls of the home too. There are no leaves and sprouted plants here. But there is a hummingbird who got trapped in here. My friends are staying here too. None of them are talking to each other or sitting with each other. They are not really paying attention to what’s going on around them, including the bird, unless I interact with them. They to do choose to speak to me, they only speak and look up at me when spoken to. I want to catch the hummingbird and set it free, but I know that I want to care for it too. It needs food and energy, so I assemble hummingbird feeds and sugar water food. I fill up a tub of water and put it up high for it to drink water from. I walk around following it. I talk about how it needs flowers to drink from. I talk about how it’ll die from exhaustion if it can’t get out. I move back to the older woman’s house. She asks why I care about this bird? Why not just leave it be? It’s the one who got in and got lost in the first place, that’s its fault. What will catching it do for me? I say, with plants you can choose to snuff them out easily and no one would care, but I choose to care even about them. I don’t have children and may never have them and I don’t think about having them, but I care enough to not get one to have to snuff it out. I am choosing to not allow this little bird to die even though it made a mistake it didn’t know it had made coming in. She looked at me in silence with judgement but of understanding. He face really doesn’t change ever. As I say these things I look at walls around her and at the seedlings in her walls and realize she also cares for some of the plants growing because they are purposely grown and cared for to look the way they do and are as big as they are, but pretends that she doesn’t. Some are in tiny pots covered by the leaves. I move back the the wood house and am working on catching the hummingbird in a shoebox by following it around, looking up at the ceiling and sky as it flies around trying to get out/get free. Then I wake up.
Dreams often reflect our subconscious thoughts, feelings, and experiences. To interpret your dream, let's break it down into several key elements and themes:
First Home (Stone & Nature): This home, characterized by dark wood and stone with natural elements (like leaves and seedlings), suggests a connection to nature and possibly a sense of comfort or rootedness. The presence of the older woman may symbolize wisdom, authority, or critique, perhaps representing your own inner voice or a figure in your life who challenges your beliefs.
Second Home (Wood & Light): This space with bright wood, high ceilings, and windows symbolizes openness, clarity, and positivity. However, it lacks the natural elements present in the first home, indicating a shift from a more organic, nurturing environment to one that feels less connected to nature.
The hummingbird often symbolizes energy, joy, love, and the ability to adapt. Its presence in the dream can represent aspects of your own happiness or vitality that you feel are trapped or constrained. Your desire to care for it reflects compassion and a nurturing aspect of yourself, revealing a deep empathy for those who are vulnerable or lost.
The critical yet understanding older woman represents internal conflict. She poses challenging questions about your choices and values. Her questioning of why you care for the hummingbird suggests introspection about your motivations and responsibilities towards others or projects in your life. Her presence might also symbolize a guiding figure or an aspect of yourself that is cautious or skeptical.
Your actions in the dream, particularly your concern for the hummingbird, illustrate a deeper theme of responsibility for life and choices, even when those choices are not directly yours (like the bird entering the home). This implies a strong moral compass and a value system focused on empathy and protection, even for those who might seem to be at fault.
You express a concern for nurturing and caring for what is often overlooked (the bird, the plants), which might reflect either a desire for connection or a need to find purpose in your relationships or creative endeavors. The seedlings in the older woman’s home might parallel your own hidden potential or projects that require nurturing.
Overall, this dream seems to explore concepts of care, responsibility, and the tension between nurturing and neglect. It prompts you to reflect on what you choose to value and protect in your life, as well as how you navigate the expectations of those around you. The hummingbird and your interactions with both homes may symbolize an internal journey towards understanding your role as a caregiver and your relationship with nature and personal fulfillment.
Consider examining any areas in your life where you feel a sense of responsibility or compassion, as well as any dynamics between nurturing instincts and external expectations.