journeys

Lately, I've been having a weird series of dreams. The dreams all start out with driving in a car, and as the dream progresses, the road gets rougher and rougher, until it turns from pavement into gravel, then dirt, finally deteriorating into a crude path too narrow for a car. The road climbs and drops, with the climbs getting steeper and steeper. We cross bridges which all look like they are on the verge of collapse. We abandon the car and walk for a while. For some reason, we never turn back and retrace our steps, but we keep walking farther and farther away from the car. Sometimes we ride bikes until the path ends and we climb a rocky hill.

The locations for these journeys is never the same. One started on a suburban highway and ended in a multi-level mall. Another started in an average looking neighborhood and ended in an abandoned quarry. Sometimes I have the feeling that we are being chased, or are in danger. Sometimes I am looking for someone, or feel that I am in a hurry to meet someone. Who is chasing us? Who am I going to meet? The sweet mystery of dreams.

I usually wake up (exhausted) before arriving anywhere. Is there a final destination? I may never know. Does this mean I'm on a journey that will get worse? Or is it some unknown fear that surfaces in the depths of sleep? Without getting all Freudian on the meanings wrapped up in them, it will be interesting to see how all these stories play out.