The Road Ahead?

Last night, I had a dream—a dream with lots of interesting and unusual details, which I retained well after waking. I decided to write down the details to see if I could interpret them. Some were rather obvious; the last one was striking.

At one point in the dream, I realize I am carrying a heavy backpack around. This is an obvious reference to the 10 of Wands: carrying a burden. I certainly feel that, but I’ll have to give it some more thought to see if there is more to this than what I already know. I also need to be more mindful of laying down loads I don’t need to carry around.

As is typical in my dreams, I suddenly find myself driving rather than walking. There is someone in the truck with me, but I do not know who it is. This is so common, I have decided that the unknown passenger at my side is my spirit guide, who is always along for the ride.

I turn down one street, then turn onto a road that goes through the woods along one side of town. The road doesn’t look like a normal road…at least not one made for driving. It is a stone road with cement like material holding the stones together. The center of the road is flat, but both sides slope up and are constructed the same. Because the road looks so unusual, I question whether this is the right way to go.

A few blocks up, the road is completely blocked. The road just rises up to form a barricade, constructed intentionally. I don’t panic; I simply turn around and head back to the nearest cross street. In no time, I work my way around to the other side of the blockade and find myself in a new home development. I question why they blocked the road rather than allowing it through, but then quickly move on.

The interpretation of this part of the dream, I have decided, is simply a reminder that I do eventually get to where I’m going, even if not the first time.

To prevent going down a dead-end again, I pull out my phone and use my GPS for directions. It shows me the route, taking me around town rather than through it. Then off I go.

Unfortunately, my GPS is not displaying the turns I need to take. It tells me I need to turn right onto Ford St, but only shows me an image of the street sign. As I’m driving, I can’t see where Ford St is. At the next intersection, streets veer off to the right in multiple directions. Since I don’t know which one to take, I don’t turn at all. Unfortunately, that puts me on a long road that I can’t get off of.

This is where the dream gets interesting.

This part of the road has been recently paved (with black top), but not in a finished sort of way, rather as a temporary fix. There are no guard rails and the earth along side the road drops off dramatically as if going over a canyon. Down below, the city looks like it was destroyed as if by war.

The first part of the road doesn’t look like a bridge, just a narrow roadway that extends straight across and way up above the destruction. I take note of the need to pay close attention to keep from driving off and crashing below. In the distance, the road becomes a modern suspension bridge and I can see the vast city skyline beyond it.

I am bummed. I didn’t want to go this way, but it is too late. I cannot turn around. I have to cross above the crater, then the bridge, then the city. It would have been so much easier to go around. A part of me is frustrated that the GPS didn’t work properly, showing me where that last turn was. It all happened too fast for me to have done anything differently. And I had no idea that Ford St was my last opportunity to get off of this road.

Writing about this dream in my morning journal, I quickly realize how it illustrates life experience. I certainly feel as if we’re down a road that we must see through. I don’t see any way back or around. Maybe we could have done something in the past to have taken an easier route, but it’s too late.

Aspects of 2020 and 2021 feel like the crater of destruction below. So much of life is not what it was. It is not nearly as fun and there have been casualties. Some businesses are gone forever and we wonder what the “new normal” will look like.

The part of the road we are on is not (yet) safe. We must pay careful attention and keep to the path.

But the good news is we can see the bridge up ahead, which is a safer road to traverse, and then there is the city beyond it. It’s still too far away to know what that part of the journey will be like, but at least we can see it up ahead.

I always find it interesting where my dream ends. Often, it is either just getting to the good part, which is frustrating, or my anxiety is rising, in which case I am happy to be out of it.

Anyone relate?

The city up ahead was bathed in an orange glow, akin to sunrise or sunset. I had to keep my eyes on the road, so I didn’t look at it specifically, but it was beautiful.