A telling dream
I'll describe a dream I had recently...
I only remember a portion of it -- but that's about all I needed to remember. This part was very vivid and very clear in my mind.
Preface of the dream: situation -- Jenette, Chloe and I are at a large amusement park -- somewhat like Disney World. There's many sections to the park. The starting point at which I remember my dream is that all three of us are trying to get from one part of the park to another. We are using one of the park's transportation trains to get there. The train is not a straight shot, it weaves, and zig zags as it goes. It's also very slow. Ahead, I can see the section of the park I really want to get to, and I'm getting impatient and frustrated with this meandering train ride. It turns to the left, slowly goes in a diagonal path somewhat towards our destination, then suddenly the track sharply turns it back to a right-diagonal direction -- even though the train moves slow, the turn is so sharp that many of the people on the train are almost whiplashed off the ride. Then again, slow moving until the next sharp turn back to a left-diagonal direction. I get more and more anxious to get off with each sharp turn. Many of the children on the ride seem to enjoy it -- most of the adults feel ambivalence towards it.
Finally, *finally*, we reach our destination. Jenette and Chloe go off for a while on their own and enjoy this section of the park -- find fun things to do. I'm exhausted from this yankity-yank toy train ride from hell, and I simply wish to loiter around and unwind, relax.
I really enjoy this section of the amusement park. It is comfortable and less stressful. Everything about it is more suiting to the three of us. Then, I see a ride that I really want to take. It also goes to another section of this large theme park. The entrance to it is a large brick building that prevents all patrons from seeing what's inside of it -- no windows, and it's about five stories tall. I can't even tell what the actual ride is like -- all I know is that this ride will take me, my wife, and my daughter where we really want to go.
I venture into the building's door, and inside is a bizarre, winding, uneven, unlevel (although not dangerous, just highly confusing) staircase that serpentines this way and that. There's not much of a handrail, and there's many people here and there on various parts of the staircase -- some moving in one direction or another -- some just standing at their spot and relaxing, looking around. I get going on this staircase deftly and with agility. I make great progress going up. In the beginning I pass several people on the way up, and notice that, oddly, many of them are Chinese.
I climb with nothing giving me pause, although many things happen that attempt to slow and stiffle my ascent. Finally, I get to the top and see what the ride actually is....
How should I describe it? I think the best way is to say that it is a flexible rocket-like train, with open-air seats for each passenger -- passengers' shoulders and head are exposed -- very much like a roller coaster -- most similar to the size and feel of Disney's Space Mountain. I call it a "rocket train", because, like a roller coaster, it travels on tracks -- however, the tracks of this ride are invisible. The passenger seats are single-file -- this rocket train is not very wide. There are several people on the ride already, waiting for departure. Jenette and Chloe are now with me. We get in our own seats -- Jenette in front of me, and Chloe a few seats ahead of Jenette. Then after a pause, the ride takes off. We immediately shoot up, travelling extremely fast, at an angle of approximately 60 degrees. Then at about a hight of 500 feet, the ride levels off sharply and travels straight ahead, accelerating enormously.
At the moment that the ride leveled off, in which the momentum is so fierce that anyone not wearing a seatbelt would be ejected off the ride, I thought I saw Chloe get flung out of her seat and pass right over my head. It happened so fast that I couldn't be sure, but immediately my heart went into shock, and I knew that if what I thought I saw was indeed correct, then my daughter is now helplessly falling to her death -- and there's nothing I can do about it -- I'm stuck on this ride which is approaching Mach 2. Oh the panic and terror in that moment! Despite the strong force of wind, I managed to tilt my head and see a few seats ahead of me. I saw Chloe still in her seat, thoroughly enjoying the ride. My heart sighed with relief -- and I realized that it wasn't Chloe that was flung out of the ride, but her white sweater. The shere force of wind whipped her sweater off, and that was the object that I saw get flung out. With my mind eased, I began to enjoy the ride completely. It was a fantastic sensation -- the time of day was just post-dusk, and the sky was a deep blue. Here we were, rocketing through the firmament and the clouds. I knew the ride would not last forever, but it would last for quite a while, and when it was over it would put us down gently into the area of the park that we really wanted to be.
I continued to dream more, but that is all of this dream that I remember. I woke up feeling thrilled, excited, and mesmerized. I had a strong feeling that this dream meant something. And, within a minute, I knew exactly what its meaning was.
The amusement park represents my life, and the different areas within it represent my goals and asperations -- what I wish to accomplish in my life.
The annoying, unfulfilling back-and-forth train ride represented my working career over the past several years. I had gone from employer to employer, from job to job, layoff to layoff, contract to contract. Those were very difficult years, and very disheartening. During that time I craved stability, non-violate routine, and job security above all. The feelings in this part of my dream harken back to the same feelings I endured during those times.
Arriving at the new section of the amusement park, and relaxing, represents my job with my current company, whom I have worked for for nearly five years now. The feelings in my dream at this point were very reflective of how I have felt over the past few years, especially since I and my family moved here to Orlando, Florida.
The window-less four-or-five-storey building before me (that leads to the ride I wish to go on) is a representation of the unknown obstacles that I face in order to reach my goals and asperations. Upon entering the building, the winding, crooked, uneven, unlevel staircase represents the confusing and tedious path to get to where I want to go, to accomplish what I so desire. The people on the staircase I must pass by are obstacles, or helpers, depending upon which ones are in my way and which ones I notice are making progress and I track and move towards them. When starting on the staircase the people I passed were all Chinese. While this did not mean much to me back when I had this dream, it makes sense today. For six months my wife's sister stayed with us in order to have her baby delivered in America. Her 3-year-old son stayed with us during that time as well. Then once the baby was born (four months into their stay), her husband came to stay with us as well for two months. A family of four stayed in one of our extra bedrooms. Our utility bills, food costs, and all kinds of other financial aspects went up greatly during this time. On top of that, hurricane Charley hit us one week after her husband arrived. And then hurricane Frances hit less than three weeks after that. It was a very stressful time. Oh, and on top of that, my truck was hit by another car -- the fenders, front end, and hood were smashed up. Thank goodness nothing was messed up in the engine, but I still ended up with over $3200 worth of body work -- and my truck was in the shop for two weeks. Yes, a very stressful time. I figure this period represents the first portion of me heading up the winding staircase, avoiding and maneuvering around the Chinese people in my dream.
The rocket-ship ride is my arrival at success -- my overcoming all obstacles. The ride's hyper ascent is the initial tremendous results of success (whether it's money, fame, recognition, inspiring others, I don't know), and then the leveling off and travelling at increasingly Mach 1, 2 and 3 speeds represents the "cap" of the level of success I attain, but then the increasing speeds represents continued, unhindered progress at this same level of success.
The disturbing aspect of this dream, that moment in which I thought my daughter was flung out of the ride and began falling to her death, but then it turns out that she's OK and only lost her white sweater -- I can only guess what that means. I theorize that it represents that the thrill and takeoff of success is so phenominal that during this period I am so wrapped up in the moment that I take my mind off of my family. Once I hit the peak of success, her white sweater flying by me is a red herring -- shocking me back into the importance of the role I play in my family. I can only hope that her white sweater does not represent her loss of innocence. I don't think that it does, because when I am able to see her again, she is still young, vibrant, and youthful. She's thoroughly enjoying herself without pain or worry. She doesn't seem to miss her sweater in the slightest -- this loss doesn't damper her enthusiasm for the ride.
You can see now why I woke up so enthusiastic and amazed. This dream gave me so much hope that I can, and will, attain the worthwhile goals that burn inside of me.
I only remember a portion of it -- but that's about all I needed to remember. This part was very vivid and very clear in my mind.
Preface of the dream: situation -- Jenette, Chloe and I are at a large amusement park -- somewhat like Disney World. There's many sections to the park. The starting point at which I remember my dream is that all three of us are trying to get from one part of the park to another. We are using one of the park's transportation trains to get there. The train is not a straight shot, it weaves, and zig zags as it goes. It's also very slow. Ahead, I can see the section of the park I really want to get to, and I'm getting impatient and frustrated with this meandering train ride. It turns to the left, slowly goes in a diagonal path somewhat towards our destination, then suddenly the track sharply turns it back to a right-diagonal direction -- even though the train moves slow, the turn is so sharp that many of the people on the train are almost whiplashed off the ride. Then again, slow moving until the next sharp turn back to a left-diagonal direction. I get more and more anxious to get off with each sharp turn. Many of the children on the ride seem to enjoy it -- most of the adults feel ambivalence towards it.
Finally, *finally*, we reach our destination. Jenette and Chloe go off for a while on their own and enjoy this section of the park -- find fun things to do. I'm exhausted from this yankity-yank toy train ride from hell, and I simply wish to loiter around and unwind, relax.
I really enjoy this section of the amusement park. It is comfortable and less stressful. Everything about it is more suiting to the three of us. Then, I see a ride that I really want to take. It also goes to another section of this large theme park. The entrance to it is a large brick building that prevents all patrons from seeing what's inside of it -- no windows, and it's about five stories tall. I can't even tell what the actual ride is like -- all I know is that this ride will take me, my wife, and my daughter where we really want to go.
I venture into the building's door, and inside is a bizarre, winding, uneven, unlevel (although not dangerous, just highly confusing) staircase that serpentines this way and that. There's not much of a handrail, and there's many people here and there on various parts of the staircase -- some moving in one direction or another -- some just standing at their spot and relaxing, looking around. I get going on this staircase deftly and with agility. I make great progress going up. In the beginning I pass several people on the way up, and notice that, oddly, many of them are Chinese.
I climb with nothing giving me pause, although many things happen that attempt to slow and stiffle my ascent. Finally, I get to the top and see what the ride actually is....
How should I describe it? I think the best way is to say that it is a flexible rocket-like train, with open-air seats for each passenger -- passengers' shoulders and head are exposed -- very much like a roller coaster -- most similar to the size and feel of Disney's Space Mountain. I call it a "rocket train", because, like a roller coaster, it travels on tracks -- however, the tracks of this ride are invisible. The passenger seats are single-file -- this rocket train is not very wide. There are several people on the ride already, waiting for departure. Jenette and Chloe are now with me. We get in our own seats -- Jenette in front of me, and Chloe a few seats ahead of Jenette. Then after a pause, the ride takes off. We immediately shoot up, travelling extremely fast, at an angle of approximately 60 degrees. Then at about a hight of 500 feet, the ride levels off sharply and travels straight ahead, accelerating enormously.
At the moment that the ride leveled off, in which the momentum is so fierce that anyone not wearing a seatbelt would be ejected off the ride, I thought I saw Chloe get flung out of her seat and pass right over my head. It happened so fast that I couldn't be sure, but immediately my heart went into shock, and I knew that if what I thought I saw was indeed correct, then my daughter is now helplessly falling to her death -- and there's nothing I can do about it -- I'm stuck on this ride which is approaching Mach 2. Oh the panic and terror in that moment! Despite the strong force of wind, I managed to tilt my head and see a few seats ahead of me. I saw Chloe still in her seat, thoroughly enjoying the ride. My heart sighed with relief -- and I realized that it wasn't Chloe that was flung out of the ride, but her white sweater. The shere force of wind whipped her sweater off, and that was the object that I saw get flung out. With my mind eased, I began to enjoy the ride completely. It was a fantastic sensation -- the time of day was just post-dusk, and the sky was a deep blue. Here we were, rocketing through the firmament and the clouds. I knew the ride would not last forever, but it would last for quite a while, and when it was over it would put us down gently into the area of the park that we really wanted to be.
I continued to dream more, but that is all of this dream that I remember. I woke up feeling thrilled, excited, and mesmerized. I had a strong feeling that this dream meant something. And, within a minute, I knew exactly what its meaning was.
The amusement park represents my life, and the different areas within it represent my goals and asperations -- what I wish to accomplish in my life.
The annoying, unfulfilling back-and-forth train ride represented my working career over the past several years. I had gone from employer to employer, from job to job, layoff to layoff, contract to contract. Those were very difficult years, and very disheartening. During that time I craved stability, non-violate routine, and job security above all. The feelings in this part of my dream harken back to the same feelings I endured during those times.
Arriving at the new section of the amusement park, and relaxing, represents my job with my current company, whom I have worked for for nearly five years now. The feelings in my dream at this point were very reflective of how I have felt over the past few years, especially since I and my family moved here to Orlando, Florida.
The window-less four-or-five-storey building before me (that leads to the ride I wish to go on) is a representation of the unknown obstacles that I face in order to reach my goals and asperations. Upon entering the building, the winding, crooked, uneven, unlevel staircase represents the confusing and tedious path to get to where I want to go, to accomplish what I so desire. The people on the staircase I must pass by are obstacles, or helpers, depending upon which ones are in my way and which ones I notice are making progress and I track and move towards them. When starting on the staircase the people I passed were all Chinese. While this did not mean much to me back when I had this dream, it makes sense today. For six months my wife's sister stayed with us in order to have her baby delivered in America. Her 3-year-old son stayed with us during that time as well. Then once the baby was born (four months into their stay), her husband came to stay with us as well for two months. A family of four stayed in one of our extra bedrooms. Our utility bills, food costs, and all kinds of other financial aspects went up greatly during this time. On top of that, hurricane Charley hit us one week after her husband arrived. And then hurricane Frances hit less than three weeks after that. It was a very stressful time. Oh, and on top of that, my truck was hit by another car -- the fenders, front end, and hood were smashed up. Thank goodness nothing was messed up in the engine, but I still ended up with over $3200 worth of body work -- and my truck was in the shop for two weeks. Yes, a very stressful time. I figure this period represents the first portion of me heading up the winding staircase, avoiding and maneuvering around the Chinese people in my dream.
The rocket-ship ride is my arrival at success -- my overcoming all obstacles. The ride's hyper ascent is the initial tremendous results of success (whether it's money, fame, recognition, inspiring others, I don't know), and then the leveling off and travelling at increasingly Mach 1, 2 and 3 speeds represents the "cap" of the level of success I attain, but then the increasing speeds represents continued, unhindered progress at this same level of success.
The disturbing aspect of this dream, that moment in which I thought my daughter was flung out of the ride and began falling to her death, but then it turns out that she's OK and only lost her white sweater -- I can only guess what that means. I theorize that it represents that the thrill and takeoff of success is so phenominal that during this period I am so wrapped up in the moment that I take my mind off of my family. Once I hit the peak of success, her white sweater flying by me is a red herring -- shocking me back into the importance of the role I play in my family. I can only hope that her white sweater does not represent her loss of innocence. I don't think that it does, because when I am able to see her again, she is still young, vibrant, and youthful. She's thoroughly enjoying herself without pain or worry. She doesn't seem to miss her sweater in the slightest -- this loss doesn't damper her enthusiasm for the ride.
You can see now why I woke up so enthusiastic and amazed. This dream gave me so much hope that I can, and will, attain the worthwhile goals that burn inside of me.
posted by Christian at 9:53 AM
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