Images and Rebirth

You must give birth to your images.
They are the future waiting to be born.
Fear not the strangeness you feel.
The future must enter you long before it happens.
Just wait for the birth,
for the hour of new clarity.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

The other night I dreamt of a phoenix for the second time in my life.

In the first dream I was walking along a snowy road on a bright winter day and spotted the red bird sitting on a telephone wire. Then it opened its wings and I remember how striking it looked against the white landscape. When I woke up I didn't know it was a phoenix I'd seen; only when I read the description of the bird in my dream dictionary did I realize what it was.

This second time, I was standing in a parking lot waiting for dear friends of mine to pick me up. They were giving me a ride to Squam. As they pulled into the parking lot I looked up and saw a large white bird facing me with its wings folded in front of its chest. It seemed to be hovering in mid-air, almost apparition-like. Then it started unfurling its beautiful white wings to reveal a red-feathered chest encrusted with gold and jewels. It felt gentle; I felt calm.

I can't help but wonder what this image is birthing.