Norman — One can learn a lot from his dreams. Like how screwed up his mind must work while his subconscious is in control.
That being said, I’ve had stretches during my life where I’ve made the effort to keep track of what rattles around in my head while it’s resting, comfortably or otherwise, on my fluffy blue pillowcase.
It often seems to involve being on some sort of trip. Usually I’m driving in the middle of nowhere, headed to somewhere else in the middle of nowhere.
It sounds a little like my days as a small-town Oklahoma sports writer, but it’s different.
No, it seems I’m always looking for something. And I always seem to have brought way too much stuff with me and have way to much to pack back up before rushing off to the next destination.
“Ah,” my dream analyzing friends say, “you have a lot of baggage you are carrying with you on your journey. Maybe it’s a sign you are carrying it along with you.”
Wow, tell me something I didn’t know.
It’s not to say it’s all bad. Plenty of times while I’m on these journeys I am surrounded by loved ones, sometimes even those who have departed this world many years ago.
Surprisingly, I never seem to be hungry when I dream. Maybe the fact I have perfected the midnight snack has something to do with that.
And maybe that midnight snack has finally broken me of being the “tall skinny guy” after all these years.
But that’s another column.
Back to the here and now of the world of sleep.
I think there is something to learn somewhere from all this. Perhaps the answer to some big upcoming stage in my life is hidden in there, the answer to all my big questions right there in my head.
Or maybe it’s indigestion from one too many jalapeño hot dogs while watching the fourth re-run of SportsCenter.
It’s kind of amazing to me looking all around the Internet at how serious a lot of people are on this topic.
They’re sure they can solve the day’s problems based on what they were thinking of when they climbed out of bed.
“Ha,” say the naysayers who then go to their horoscope to plan out their own day.
Personally, I always got a good laugh out of the horoscope. And for all the years I tried to remember to check it on my birthday, I always managed to forget, every single year.
Charting dreams is a lot easier to remember.
My latest dream involved a crazy scenario where my children had spent all my money and then decided to drive me out into the desert and leave me there.
I don’t know why they were driving and I don’t know how they were paying for gas. It sure wasn’t with their own money. Of course, I guess in a dream they might actually spend their own money instead of mine.
Unfortunately, the buzzing of my cell phone next to my head was the last I remember of my fateful journey to the desert. I don’t know if they succeeded in leaving me there, but my wallet was empty the next morning, probably for the same reason as in the dream.
For as many secrets as these dreams may hold, I think I’ll stick to the here and now of my awake life. It’s hard enough to keep up when I’m actually conscious.
Christian Potts
366-3544
cpotts@normantranscript.com
