Dec 01, 2016 12:40
For the past few weeks, I have been a wee bit of a mess. My right knee has been flaring up like a futher-mucker (I will ALWAYS curse that f&cking cement barn floor at Pennsic all those years ago for destroying me!), and I have had to drastically cut down on any kind of work-out. I’ve felt tired, had less energy, less concentration, and been operating on a short fuse. Fortunately, I think I’m coming out of this annoying phase, and starting to feel significantly more like my old jolly self. And I think this was marked by a particularly significant event from the other night - a really productive sleep. Now, what does that mean? I’m glad you (virtually) asked!
With the exception of when my brain is spinning so fast that I just cannot settle into sleep, usually I sleep like the dead. But “sleep” does not always equate rest. For me, there are times that I know I am in bed, eyes closed, and I zonk out. But when I wake up - regardless of how many hours I have been asleep - I still do not feel rested. My body feels exhausted. And mentally I feel like I am exactly in the same place as I was when I closed my eyes - same stresses, same thoughts, same anxieties, same boredom, or whatever. It is like all I did was close my eyes for a second, as opposed to being asleep for ten hours. But then there is what I call truly productive sleep. That is when my brain takes me off on a vacation. I end up in some exotic place or circumstance or situation that is sooooooo incredibly different than my every-day life that it feels like a total vacation. When I wake up, I have to take a moment to ask, “Where am I? Who am I? How did I get here? Where are my solid-gold shoes? What happened to my pet dragon?” etc. Those are absolutely THE BEST! And the other night, I had one of those. And I’ve been feeling great ever since!
In my dream, I was somewhere else (no idea where) and someone else (no idea who). But neither of those things matter. What does matter? I was working as some sort of world-class archeologist. And when I arrived at my top-notch lab, I saw a big cube (the size of a dishwasher), of dirt that was taken in situ from a tomb or some dig in an ancient city. Nobody knew WHAT the block of dirt contained. But it was my job to dig through it and uncover whatever treasures there might be. And treasures there were! I began to brush away slowly at the dirt, and ancient Egyptian artifacts began to reveal themselves. Sometimes I immediately recognized what the object was and fully understood them (say, a broken statue of a particular ancient God); other times, the object was a bit more vague (say, a ring with gems and unusual markings that I was not able to identify); and then other times, the object was completely unrecognizable to me (say, what looked like a piece of a machine). Around me, amateur archeologists observed me working behind windows. I could hear the gasps from the students as I began to uncover new items. This was a HUGE discovery, and I knew I was being booked left and right to make appearances and give lectures on the meaning of the objects and the main dig.
So, what did this dream mean? And why did my brain specifically program in a combination of items that I completely understood, partially understood, or didn’t understand at all? I can’t say that I really know. And I’m sure there must be all kinds of psycho-analysis involved in it. But ultimately, I don’t care. All I know for sure is that when I woke up, I felt refreshed, energized, happy, and ready to go and face the world!
Those are the BEST!!!!!