Author’s Note: I had intended to write a long disclaimer for this post. I was going to write something along these lines:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination, are used in a fictitious manner, or came to the author in a dream (or perhaps a nightmare). Any resemblance to actual persons —living, dead, or imaginary — or actual events is purely coincidental, a damn shame, or all three.
But then I just decided to settle for this.
I had a dream the other night that I was conducting a weekly writing workshop in a local library. Most of the sessions ended with the members of the group agreeing to undertake some writing exercise of individually determined length to be shared with the group at the next session.
During one of the sessions in my dream, the conversation wandered into spirituality, politics, favorite egg-salad recipes, top-fuel drag racing, the efficacy of ground-cherry-pits-in-solution vs. Gorilla Glue as a binding agent, enzyme production, little-known Franciscan hymns, and whether amputation is the most efficacious remedy for toenail fungus.
After sitting and listening quietly for most of the session, one of the members of the group spoke up to say he was triggered by what had been discussed. I asked if perhaps the fumes from the drag racers had bothered him, if he was allergic to cherry pits, or if maybe one or two of the eggs had been rotten. He didn’t respond to that. But he did say he was micro-aggressed because he thought the other members of the group wanted him out. He also said he was macro-aggressed because I was making him do work. I was so taken aback that, in the dream, I actually morphed into Ralph Kramden.
Have you ever had one of those dreams in which you’re falling, but you wake up before you hit anything? In the dream I’m recounting here, when the person said what he said, I fell out of my chair. It felt as if I were falling forever. But I didn’t wake up before or after I hit the floor.
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream ….
Some people believe dreams are products of the subconscious mind recalling experiences, emotions, thoughts, or our confusion about them. Some people believe they reveal underlying concerns, desires, or fears that may be rooted in reality — related to current circumstances, linked to current events, or connected to situations in our waking lives. I believe there are several possible interpretations for my dream.
It might have been the product of my concern about how my actions or words might affect others, offend someone, or cause misunderstandings. Perhaps I should have asked if he disliked Franciscan hymns, rather than inquiring about rotten eggs. Or maybe the dream reflected unidentified or unresolved tensions with the person in my dream. And it’s possible that, at one point, years before the writing workshop, the person’s was a drag racer and his parachute failed to deploy at the end of a race, resulting in a terrible crash and gruesome injuries.
It’s also possible the dream was a product of self-reflection, projecting something about which I’m feeling particularly sensitive or vulnerable. The only thing I can think of is that I’ve had salmonella poisoning three times in my life (true), each time attributable to eggs. That suggests I may have been better off citing politics as the issue with the person, rather than rotten eggs.
I can’t overlook the possibility that the dream reflected some larger, general communication issue. It might have been suggesting I felt misunderstood or was struggling to express myself clearly without causing offense. On the other hand, it may have indicated the other person’s entire life is a Charlie Foxtrot. Since it’s also possible I happened to be in the wrong dream at the wrong time — and at the risk of mixing my metaphors — perhaps the rotten eggs were a red herring.
Sometimes, though, dreams about sensitive or easily offended people can simply be reflections of general stress or tension in one’s own life. The subconscious might use such imagery to express feelings of being on edge. If that was the case in this specific dream, I might have been better off saying I felt as if I were walking on eggshells, rather than citing rotten eggs, which clearly constituted a fowl.
Bottom Line
All dreams are highly personal, and their interpretations are equally subjective. They contain symbolism likely derived from our singular psyches, emotions, experiences, and perspectives. And in most instances, they don’t reflect any objective reality at all.
On the other hand, sometimes they prove the answer to Roseanne Roseannadanna’s question was, “Yes,” when she asked, “Don’t you wish people like that would just stay home?”
Sweet dreams.
