Freeing my father from prison

Dream:

My parents are separated. My father lives in another state. I dreamt that I went to see him. I kissed my mother goodbye and went on my way. But when I got there, I found him in prison. I talked to him and there were these bars in front of us, just like the rooms you see in prison movies. I asked him if he recognized me and he said no. He showed me a picture of a woman and told me she was his wife. I left the place crying. In real life, my father never remarried and currently lives alone.

Interpretation:

You love your family deeply and wish that your father and mother were still together.

Going to see your father in another state shows that you are willing to go to great lengths for your family. It also indicates an emotional distance between you and your father. The bars between you and your father are a representation of both the physical and emotional gap you feel while living far away from him. While you perceive that there's this huge gap, a part of you yearns strongly for his approval and his love. You also tend to favor your mother judging from the imagery of your dream. You cling to the wish that your family may become "whole again". That is why you reacted the way you did when he showed you the picture of his "new wife" since this represents a "permanent" break in the mental image of your family.

While, in real life, your father never remarried and lives alone, this should not be the basis for hoping that your mother and father would reconcile. Maybe this is the cause of the problem.
The prison imagery is not that of a prison that keeps your father in--it is a prison that keeps your father out. Outside of your understanding. Outside of your acceptance. Maybe the first step would be to recognize the following:

a) both your parents are adults and have made their choices
b) both your parents love you
c) it is okay to feel loved by parents that are separate
d) it is okay to believe that they can find their personal happiness apart from each other
e) its okay to love both of them fully despite their choices.

It is very hard to progress through these realizations but you have to do it. Or else, you will continue to wall your father out....and you are the one that ends up being the prisoner.


Image credit: a DELL