do dreams matter?

What a question. Of course they matter. Where would we be if we didn't have dreams? Somewhere darker, more dreary, less hopeful for sure. What would get us through those darker days?

And yet, sometimes I wake from a weird dream, wondering what was that all about? Some say dreams are just our brains making space to store memories. Others say it's a fantasy world peeking out. (I'm suddenly reminded of the scene in Men in Black when the locker is opened to reveal..... well, I won't spoil it if you haven't seen that film yet.) Well, then there's those who say - no, our dreams are foretelling our future. Who really knows?

Yes, OK, so I'm cheating - talking about dreams as hopes in the same way as what happens when we're asleep. But then, it is the same word, isn't it?

I dream
I wake
who can tell which is more real?