The Gift of Dreaming in Old Age

Source: Kelly Bulkeley

Many people remember fewer dreams as they age. This can lead to the assumption that dreaming becomes less important over time. A downward trend in recall is not inescapable, however, and the truth is that valuable insights from dreaming can blossom forth at any time of life, from early childhood all the way to our elder years.

The Recurrent Dream of Socrates

A beautiful illustration of the capacity for dream-inspired growth in old age appears in Plato’s dialogue Phaedo, which describes the final days of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. The dialogue opens with Socrates in prison, awaiting execution after being convicted of the crimes of insulting the Gods and corrupting the Athenian youth. A couple of his friends arrived for a visit, and they asked him what he was doing with his time. He answered that he had been writing. I imagine his friends assumed he was composing some grand work, perhaps the final summation of his philosophy. But to their surprise, Socrates replied that he was composing poems based on Aesop’s fables for children.

Recognizing this news had baffled his friends, Socrates went on to explain that he was writing the poems in response to a dream that he had noticed recurring throughout his life. Although taking many forms, the essence of the dream was a clear message that he should “practice the arts.” Since philosophy is the greatest of all arts, Socrates assumed he was in fact doing what the dreams intended, and each time the “practice the arts” message recurred, he interpreted it as an affirmation of his efforts, like the spectators at a race cheering a runner onwards.

But now, as he contemplated the end of his life, he wondered if perhaps he had misinterpreted the dream. Maybe it meant he should “practice the arts” in a more literal sense. Having no skill or training as an artist, he decided the easiest thing he could do to comply with the dream was to write simple poems using themes from the well-known fables of Aesop. So that’s what he was doing when his friends showed up.

Creative Vitality in Old Age

Aside from its philosophic merits, this brief episode from the Phaedo contains valuable insights about mental health and creative vitality in the latter years of life. The dream-inspired prison poetry of Socrates can teach us at least three lessons.

1. Question your assumptions. Even in old age, and perhaps especially in old age, it can be healthy to reflect on your lifelong beliefs and behavioral habits and to admit where you may have been mistaken or misguided. Socrates practiced an advanced kind of “know thyself” that questioned and critiqued his past in order to grow toward a higher level of contentment in his present and future.
2. Try new things, maybe even the opposite of what you usually do. Socrates felt his recurrent dreams were calling him to some kind of action. However, if it wasn’t (or wasn’t only) philosophy that was meant by “practice the arts,” he knew he must try a different kind of action. What he did was essentially the opposite of everything he had done in his adult life up until that point. He had always devoted himself to abstruse arguments about philosophy, but now he turned for inspiration to the simplest of children’s stories. In this way he tried to actualize new potentials within himself that he had never previously thought of exploring.
3. Listen to your dreams. Just as perplexing to Socrates’ friends as his behavior was the source of the behavior, namely his dreams. It seemed strange to them that the great philosopher would pay attention to the irrationalities of dreaming, but he demonstrated to them his sense of dreams as revealing a higher form of rationality. Even in the later stages of life, there are abundant opportunities to dream, to reflect on your dreams, and to reinterpret dreams from the past that still have gifts of wisdom to bestow upon you.