Seeing the Error of One's Ways
Much like Scrooge in Charles Dickens' classic novel A Christmas Carol, the man in the story sees the error of his ways thanks in large part that is vivid enough in his sleeping state to change his outlook on life completely once he wakes up.
Before his dream, the man is so jaded with life that he cannot even be bothered to kill himself. He cannot drum up the energy for anything at all, other than complaining and being unkind to people although he does not really like this trait in himself. He is fully open to changing but he fears that change is futile, because he thinks that life is futile. The dream comes to him just in time. Through the dream, he sees that most people have a negative effect on the world because they are essentially negative in their outlook on life. They are selfish, self-centered and have forgotten to live a life of love. This makes everyone angry, and angry people are not very happy. This is portrayed clearly in the dream.
After experiencing his dream, and seeing the negative effect he personally has been having on the world around him, the man realizes how wonderful it would be if he lived in love, and shared the importance of love with those around him. He has seen the error of his ways and thanks to the dream he has experienced he changes immediately.
Love Is All You Need
At first, the man believes that there is no meaning to anything in the world, or to life itself, therefore there is no need to be nice to anyone, because both niceness, and the unkindness with which he treats others, mean nothing anyway. When he sees that this is not the case, he feels very remorseful, and comes to realize that love is actually the only thing that can change the world, or give it any meaning. The man becomes an evangelist for living with love in one's heart and although he is often ridiculed and made fun of for his new views he is so certain that love is the answer that he lets the insults and the ridicule have no effect on him.
The Danger of Meaninglessness
Because the man feels that nothing has meaning, everything is irrelevant to him, including his own life. He has no motivation. He has no energy He has nothing to look forward to because nothing in his future means anything. This interpretation of the world and of life in general is dangerous because it makes the man believe that his actions don't matter; his unkindness does not matter and so he can be as cruel as he wants to, and give himself a pass for it, because he thinks it is meaningless anyway.
When the man realizes he actually does matter, he realizes his words and his actions matter too. He sees himself as a part of a larger picture and begins to look outward rather than inward. His life improves when he stops seeing life as meaningless, and this improvement in his own life improves the lives of those around him as well.
