I’m wide awake | A Dream
by Elouise
Today has been almost as surrealistic as the dream I had just before I woke up this morning. I’m still unsettled, and have no great insight yet about it. I recorded the dream this morning. Looking back, it seems to mirror my wandering through this strange day of interruptions.
I’m wide awake lost in a maze of hallways
filled with small shops and out-of-sight
merchandise if only I will give up my
determination to find the exit and go home
The young man with me seems happy to
be there smiling at me while dragging
his feet and holding me back with his
nonchalant air of everything’s fine just fine
It is not fine I know it I feel it I keep
looking around seeking for a way out
I know this mall I’ve been here before What
happened to all the old landmarks?
Doors are locked Other doors open up to
new hallways filled with new shops
and female shopkeepers smiling and asking
for my attention and presence Won’t I stay?
I seek help from a woman standing in the
doorway of a small shop She assures me
I’m not lost and will find the exit if I keep going
Her words soothe but fail to help me.
I wake up troubled not anxious yet
eager to know the meaning of this
frustrating search Lost in a maze of
possibilities that seem to go nowhere.
My state of mind today is about more than today’s interruptions (household appliance dying, construction dust begging to be cleaned up, etc.). It’s about the dream.
I’m wondering what I want to do in the dream. I might want to join that nonchalant young man who seems to be holding me back. He’s pleasant and definitely not in a hurry. I might learn something from him. Would joining him feel like going home? What is home? I wonder. Maybe I’m not really lost, even though I don’t recognize where I am.
And then there’s that woman standing in the doorway of a small shop (hers?). She speaks kindly and seems to understand how I feel, even though I’m not fully satisfied with her response. She seems to be like that young man. Not worried about whether I’ll find the exit right away. Does she know where it is? Perhaps she knows I can find my way now?
Hoping you’re having a wonderful or at least manageable day—despite its ups, downs and unexpected surprises.
Elouise
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 3 August 2015
Photo from familyvacationcritic.com
Amazing Mirror Maze at Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota
Telling the Truth 
Are you the woman in the shop door? What do you have to sell? I am not a great believer in dream interpretation. But your post is great. Go on dreaming. I usually dream about two things. Firstly I dream of old girl friends. secondly I dream about my car breaking down. Once I dreamed of my car breaking down when my old girls friend was in the middle of telling me something very important but then the dream ended.
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Hi, John. I like your question! (What do I have to sell?) Let’s see…maybe nothing. Maybe it’s a give-away shop of new or lightly used items! How about that? No old girl friends or boy friends, though. I’m happy to say I don’t usually dream about old boy friends. I’ve had some pretty hair-raising car dreams, though. I’m in the passenger or (worse) back seat, car being driven by someone else–usually in an unsafe place, and without much attention to safety or directions. Always makes me wonder why I’m not in the driver’s seat. Whose trip am I on? Is it mine or someone else’s? Thanks for the comments and glad you liked the post.
Elouise
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A fantastic piece Elouise, I love dreams that inspire thought and pieces as great as this. Dream on my friend💜
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Thanks, Z! I’ve had vivid dreams most of my adult life. I take them as invitations to questions and wonderings. Every now and then I have one that affirms a bit of progress in my internal growth. I started paying attention to them when I was in my 40s. Writing them down and then going back and dialoging with some that seem to stand out from the others. It’s been a great way for me to dream in real time, and to put flesh and blood to the images that stick with me when I wake up.
Elouise
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I can never write them down, as soon as my mind starts functioning in a normal way, the thoughts get lost….one reason I refuse to take any medication, not even aspirin as it disrupts my sleep😊 but sugar before bed really puts the dreams into overdrive nicely😊 have a great day Elouise😊
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I dreamed this morning before waking up. I was trying to repair the foundation on the bridge but the dirt was dry and would not stick where I put it. I wanted clay or water but none were forth coming. My dear missionary friends were there. One on each side of the bridge but neither paying any attention to me. I felt alone and discouraged. Then I was talking to Martha, my dear missionary mentor and my mother was in the background watching. At this point I woke. Your dream reminded me of Vanity Fair in Pilgrim’s Progress. There were so many shops and people who wanted Pilgrim to enter and take part in whatever was going on. There were those who tried to entice Pilgrim to stay and Faith to give up and not go on. I don’t know if that fits with your dream or not. The woman in the shop reminds me of the woman in Proverbs who entices young men to their destruction.
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Thanks for this great comment, Anne. I wonder how you imagine what comes next in your dream. How might this scenario play out? Your connections with Pilgrim’s Progress are interesting. At first I had a similar take on it, though not with concrete references to Pilgrim’s Progress or Proverbs. But then I got thinking: Since I learned in my childhood to think of myself in an upside-down way (I’m not good, I asked for it, it’s all my fault), what would happen if I didn’t have so much fear inside of me (about getting lost and not finding the exit). Maybe there’s a good reason the young man and the woman I spoke to are in the dream. That’s how I came to ask the questions I did. Thanks again for reading and commenting. It’s wonderful to hear from you!
Elouise
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