i’ve had many dreams with this thread in them:
i was waiting in line at Wall Street. in the dream, Wall Street is like a giant gray Costco. the line i’m waiting in goes on down the street past where i can see and it’s moving slowly. i can see the building now, however, so even if i’m frustrated with the wait, i can soothe myself with the fact that i’m almost inside. but as i’m soothing myself, the side of the building i can see explodes. through the dust and debris i can see that an enormous snake, which had been held inside Wall Street (the building), has just broken out.
the snake is killing anything it can reach, and it can move shockingly quick. everyone who had been waiting in line has scattered, and as i’m running for my life i’m filled with a bitter, burning anger. i’m angry with myself, because i should’ve seen this coming. i was a fool to think it could’ve happened any other way, and now my life was at its end.
that last part is the common thread with a lot of nightmares i have. a different story, but many nightmares end with the feeling that i should’ve foreseen a bad outcome.
another common thread in my nightmares:
i’m in a field. where i am, it’s safe. i need to go across the field for some reason that’s more important than my continued living. i know i can make it across, but my chances are very small. i can do it only if i make no mistake. between here and there, i can’t describe in words:
i take off. i get pretty far. i make a false step. the dream ends.
it’s not always literally that, but sometimes it is. it always has that structure. i’ve had a million of those.
i’ve had a few nice dreams that were memorable too. in one, i was in a grocery store and saw a group of people trying to kill a rat. i come running down the aisle and slide like a baseball player, scooping up the rat as i pass. the people start chasing after me, and i duck out a back door that leads to an ally, and as i run down the ally the rat turns into a dragon with a deer’s head, and as we fly away to saftey, pink concentric circle start eminating from its eyes, accompanied by the ringing of a bell. and i’m filled with the feeling that i’ve lived up to something.
my wife and i concieved our second child while i was dreaming, but i don’t feel like sharing that right now.