Spring
Water emerging from the ground — a beginning that looks small for the river it will eventually become.
A spring in a dream is the dream's image of a beginning that looks small for the river it will become. Springs are unimpressive at the source; the magnitude only develops downstream. The dream brings the spring when something in your life — a new friendship, an unproved idea, a daughter, a small daily practice — is at the origin point of what may, given decades, become a river of real size. A spring kept clear and protected is the dream affirming the careful attention to the small source. A spring trampled and muddied by passing traffic is the dream noting that the river depends on the source, and the source has been treated as if it were not yet anything.