I just woke up from two unsettling dreams, the kind that made me think, after I popped awake, “Oh, thank God that was just a dream.” One of them was a variation of the standard “last day of school and l’m not ready for the big test” dream, although it was more complicated and intense than that. The other dream was a lot scarier. A Japanese Mafia-type man was forcing me to write propaganda, and threatening to kill my family if I didn’t cooperate. He also made clear that if I somehow escaped and let the truth be known, he would be able to find me – and my family – no matter how far I ran, or how well I hid.

I didn’t watch any horror movies, eat any spicy food, or read any Stephen King novels last night, so I’m not sure what might have influenced my mental or physical state, bringing on not one, but two scary and threatening dreams.

Part of the reason may have been from watching and listening to too much of the news lately and seeing all the terror and turmoil going on around the world today. And knowing that the nightmares I experienced because of it are nothing compared to the nightmares people are going through in real life.

The dreams may also have come from a temporarily overcrowded schedule, with several important events and activities overlapping and conflicting with each other. That could explain the school dream, especially the part about being unprepared, and about other people getting upset and being disappointed in me.

Regardless of the cause, or any deeper meaning, I think my dreams may simply be telling me to slow down, take some deep breaths, and just chill for a while. And that’s what I intend to do. Not to the point of unplugging everything and hiding in a cave up in the mountains. But just guarding my schedule a little more carefully, taking time to notice and enjoy the fall colors, and spending a little more time praying, meditating, and exercising than watching or reading the news. Or Stephen King.

Although these are all good practices that I try to follow throughout the year – except for the fall colors, obviously – I sometimes slip up, and need a reminder to bring them back and follow them more closely. Perhaps that was the real message my nightmares were sending me. If that’s the case, I’m hearing it loud and clear, and taking it to heart. And I imagine that in a few days, I’ll be enjoying sweet dreams once again.

October 30, 2023
©Betty Liedtke, 2023

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