Today I had a dream that got me thinking.
Before I go into the dream let me give you a little background of what dreams mean to me.
Dreams are very important to me!
In college I had a book that I would interpret my dreams or my roommates dreams. My roommates seemed to enjoy the little dream dictionary too because it would be casually missing from my room sometimes :)
Most of the time though they would explain their dream to me and I would help them to interpret it by looking up the words associated. It was a fun way to bond and often times gave some good insight as to what was going on!
Dreams help me to signal my emotions!
I recently discovered that if I am unhappy I dream far less. In fact for a time when I was very unhappy I was not dreaming at all.
This lack of dreaming could be from physical exhaustion but in my case I think it is from being mentally exhausted.
When I was wasn't dreaming at all I found myself in a situation where I felt I had no direction. This in itself isn't explicitly bad, I had food/water/shelter and was living fine. However mentally I was not challenged or inspired. That was very difficult for me!
You have to fill your head with something and when you're not inspired it is very easy to fill your mind with negativity which is what I did. You would think I would have scary dreams in this situation but it was worse... I had none!
It was during this time that I realized I wasn't dreaming at all. That is when I had to make a conscious effort to get them back! That effort included: guided visualizations, goal setting & discussions with my significant other. These were very uncomfortable at first because I was in a poor mindset, but once I let go of control I let my mind do the talking and it got easier.
My dreams are back!
Everyone has ups and downs and I am no exception. It took some soul searching to figure out how to get back on track and establish some new more inspiring goals. With that discovery my dreams have returned!
I feel far more on track and aligned with my life. Surely this will happen again in the future and continue to do that all of my life. I am happy I recognize that life can be a roller coaster but I can help to control how I perceive the lows and highs. That way we can enjoy the entire ride.
Anyway I am off my soap box! Let's get to this dream dilemma!
Photos by: Left - Rhett Wesley | Middle - DEAR | Right - Colin Watts
All on Unsplash
My Dream
Today I dreamed I had played a game of ski ball slots (no I don't think this actually exists). Anyway you threw the ski balls up the track and as you made it in the slot would stop of the associated image. I somehow managed to win the biggest prize! The million dollar combo!
I asked a worker if I had won and she casually brushed it off and said "I doubt it!". I wasn't purely convinced so I printed my tickets and tucked them into my pocket quietly not wanting to cause a ruckus. I also felt like something was off and the other patrons didn't need to know about my winning.
I followed up with the worker to confirm that I had in fact won. She was utterly surprised and pulled me quietly to a private room to discuss my winnings.
This is where the dilemma presented itself... She said "Stacy you did win, but if you cash this win the bar will have to go out of business."
I had to let that sink in a bit. My feelings about this lady was that she was a hard worker and the people that came here were all kind people. The owner helped supply jobs to this little casino bar town and brought business to an otherwise thrive-less town.
What I told the nice lady was "Isn't there like lottery insurance or something that covers him in the case that someone wins...?" (It's a dream don't judge me). She said "No not for him, he doesn't bring in enough money. If you take the money it will completely shut us down and bankrupt him."
In my dream mind I thought well i'm working towards financial freedom. This would get me there right away but then I would ruin many other people's opportunity. I could just continue on my way to financial freedom and stick to my plan for a couple more years.
This is when I woke up.
My dream was over but my mind was racing including thoughts like:
- How could we both benefit from my win?
- Let's make a payment plan.
- Why would you even have a million dollar option if you can't afford to pay out?
- Why in the heck was I gambling with ski ball - I suck at ski ball...
- Who's lives would be impacted and how, if I took the money and said see yah!
- If the business continued would people keep doing the same things and getting the same results or would they be inspired to make a change?
Let's be real, this dream was not real and I did not win a million dollars. I did not have to decide to take the money or not.
It got me thinking though:
Who's lives am I impacting? What do my choices do to others and am I consciously aware of them? What is a fair trade-off of helping others and when is it fair to help yourself? Why do I feel guilt if I succeed and others do not?
These are all very deep questions that I am trying to answer on a daily basis. There is this internal dilemma of helping others or myself. I think what this dream has taught me is that there is no right or wrong answer. It does teach me that there is also no finite solution, there are options and each one has its pros and cons.
Also another very important concept from this dream that I took is that although my intention for others may be good the outcome may not always be. For example what if I didn't take the money and the worker was stuck in her job. Whereas had I taken the money she would have lost her job and pursued her passion and made more money and was happier.
I still don't know the answer but it is interesting to ponder.
Just for fun let's break out the dream book!
Money:
"Receiving money is a good omen, providing it was honestly come by; it signifies security through development of your own resources." "To dream of finding money is a sign of mixed blessings; your financial success will be accompanied by disappointment in its effect."
Gambling:
"a dream of contrary; if you dreamed of winning a significant amount, the dream is warning you not to risk anything it would hurt to lose."
Slots:
"these are telling you to conserve your resources because you are likely to have some unanticipated demands on them in the near future."
Game:
"If you enjoyed the game in your dream, you can anticipate pleasant sailing ahead."
Bankruptcy:
"a dream of bankruptcy involving others is a warning not to use shady methods in business and to avoid those who do."
Excerpts from:
My quick dream interpretation
Be careful! Especially regarding shady people and shady deals. If you stay on the right side of things everything will be fine. Keep it clean and fair. Be conservative and honest and your financials will increase and become secure. Choose to play a dangerous game and your money will be depleted.
See aren't dreams fun! Even if they may not signify the most positive things you still have choices.
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Gratitude
I'm very grateful for my dreams because they reassure me that my mind is working. I feel most happy in life when dreams are present at night. If I do not have them I know there are things in my life I need to address or change. I am very thankful for that signal and the creativity that dreams express.
🙏 Thank you for reading! What are some dreams you had that perplexed you or got you thinking? Do you interpret your own dreams? Do you associate happiness to dreaming? 💭
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