I grew up in a village in east-coastal China where people washed clothing at ponds or rivers. That is why my dreams associate clothing with running river/ditches, and with letting go. We are most creative asleep because we let go of the common notions that time has a past, present, and future, and we can be at one physical location at a time. Additionally, our dreams use any physical objectives, any event that  occurred or to occur, whoever  we’ve met, to meet, or never met,  to tell us what they want to tell us. We are certainly most creative in our dream state.

The theme of clothing running away in a moving river/creek/ditch has been repeated  numerous times in my dream for the past few years.  When I was in my thirties I had been interested in dream analyses and had read most of books by Carl Young, and some more recent books about dreams written by medical doctors or clinical psychologists.   Below is my self-analyses of this series of thematic dreams.

Clothing as Long Gone Past

Clothing is often related with our self-identification. How do we dress ourselves often speak aloud about our personality and characters. As any women living in an affluent societies, my closet has a large collection of clothing.  Though I have stopped purchasing new working clothes since the pandemic and I have been thinking to let most of them go, they are still in my closet. Hence, the dreams may have both physical and symbolic meanings.  On the physical level,they nudge me to let clothes I no longer wear go.  On the symbolic level, they urge me to let go and to transform certain outdated ways of self-identification. The latter notion is more interesting to me.

I have been living in this adopted country for more than two decades; my past has become estranged; the clothes drifting in the water are not new. They could symbolize my siblings, my parents, uncles/aunts and their offsprings, my old school friends, old colleagues.  Few of these people I keep in touch with one way or another, although I have lost in touch with . Even if somehow I was relinked to them through the omnipresent social media–WeChat, I have little in-common with them now, but  the long gone past past.  The village I spent my first 16 years is no longer the same; in fact, nationwide rapid urbanization nationwide has eliminated all familiarity of all places I’d lived and travelled.

The anxiety associated with the drifting clothing are speaking the somewhat  helplessness and melancholy of the feeling of watching the past to be gone forever. Like what Confuciious sighed while standing at the bank of the Yellow river,

“Thus do things flow away day and night!”

Clothing as lost dreams and by-gone aspirations

The anxiety associated with drifting clothing may also have something to do with my mid-life crisis.  I have been working hard and survived many trials; big and small. Yet, I am still far from the life I wanted, but life has been passing me by. Careerwise, I would like to be in a position where I get my fair share of respect I deserve. On a personal level, I would like to have an intimate close relationship–building a family.  Neither now seems to be within my reach. 

To some extent, I am a big failure as I commented on myself before.  I may have to let them go without useless anxiety. Perhaps as buddhism has it, all are illusions any ways. I can choose to look at what I have.   

Living alone offers great flexibility in term of timing. I have many hours to study and to learn.  

I can choose to care for my aging parents, getting them to come to live with me and taking good care of them.

I grew up poor; now I am relatively secure financially. All my necessary material needs can be met and satisfied.

Although careerwise, it is not a job I would like to take if I have other choices; it provides me some income and a stable social structure, and perhaps a sense of belong however weak that sense is.

Dream Interpretation of drifting clothing in a river by Sage Zhou (who lived about 5000 years ago in the Zhou Dynasty)

According to sage zhou, seeing drifting clothing in a river is an omen with conditions, ” Tolerance. Do not get into open conflicts with people. If you stay still and tolerant, then you will be blessed with good fortune in personal relationship and career.”

How interesting! This dream interpretation is the opposite of my self-analysis.  Wish Sage Zhou is right. Perhaps, in Ancient China, clothings are expensive. Thus, seeing tons of clothing drifting symbolizes good luck!   Fast-forwarding to today, fast-fashion and globalization have made clothing easily accessible. Even people living below poverty lines have too many pieces. If Sage Zhou were alive today, he might revise his book on dream interpretation.