Suzanne B’s uber topical guest topic suggestion is a grenade disguised as an innocuous pineapple – which appeals to my dark side – so I give you…

Vivid dreams about things that can’t happen right now due to social distancing

dreams bottleDear Reader,

For those of you who’ve been in a coma for months, perhaps some context may be in order…

It’s a pandemic! Run for the hills! No, don’t run for the hills! Run to the grocery store to hoard food, toilet paper, hand sanitizer and one lousy Snickers bar! Buy a gun! Board your doors and windows with your gun that you couldn’t take a safety class on how to use because there aren’t any online! Boil your hands! Stop touching yourself, you’ll not only get hairy palms but will die a horrid death!

Kidding.

Except, not kidding.

COVID-19 fueled social distancing is making us all vividly nutso and We Know It.

Outwardly, we’re trying to be constructive and find creative ways to be smart and supportive. Sometimes, we manage a real smile. Sometimes, the best we can do is one of those grimaces where the receiver knows they should step back slowly and use soothing words. Inwardly, we’re… well… how’s your sleep? That’s always a great indicator.

We all know that what you suppress during the day is expressed at night. Our dreams are where we act out. And they are going to be technicolor, tar-coated, hyperspace, Lenny Bruce in ancient Aramaic. All of a sudden, my childhood doesn’t seem so odd.

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What social distancing stuff is showing up in your dreams?

In our waking lives, we obsess about things we miss. Our dreams represent what those things mean. Sometimes a cigar is not just a cigar.

Our dreams tell a whole lot about what you really need and value. Warning: You may not want to turn your personal dream list into a Facebook poll unless you don’t care if no-one ever speaks to you again. Kidding!

Hugging?  This is really the only obvious one and can mean you’re missing the physical nearness of loved ones or paid strangers. Hugging dreams can also mean you need to feel protected and just plain don’t.

Bars? You’re giving yourself permission to enjoy yourself without restraint but only temporarily. It’s a quick joy fix on the rocks with a twist.

Restaurants? You’ll never guess this one. Restaurant dreams usually mean your using others to feel better about yourself or that you’re connected to someone who is undesirable in your life. I suggest skipping dessert.

Fully stocked grocery stores? You’re making hard decisions about sustaining yourself for the short term. You feel emotional and physical insecurity. You may regret not having purchased that Snickers bar when the world is ending since who’s counting calories anyway?

Toilet paper? Vigilance is needed. TP in a dream serves as a warning. I kid you not. It might also serve to make you feel bad for being a hoarding jerk, but that’s just my take.

Financial insecurity? Wait for it. Waaaiiitt…. Loss of love. Yep. Money can’t buy you love, except in your dreams. Okay, it can also mean that you’re worried about loosing everything you have worked so hard to acquire.

Death? Death in a dream symbolizes ending something, whether it’s a phase, a job, or a relationship. Or a way of life. It doesn’t symbolize your actual death, though. Just ask any tarot card reader.

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What to do to ameliorate these dreams

Perspective

We Are All Having Them. Our angst ridden dreams are great equalizers. This is a unique opportunity to find solace in solidarity with everyone on the planet.

Dreams are also not a judgement call about your worth as a human being. Most of you. Most of us.

Choose to loose your shit

Kind of like pre-gaming, you can pre-express mind-blowing angst in your waking world. Choose to loose your shit and take the edge off. I recommend cathartic screams in your car. You’re not driving anywhere anyway. Or in your house if you live alone with your new best friends the toaster and Netflix.

On the boring, constructive side, you can take a look at what you’re really feeling in your dreams and address the actual issue, blah, blah, blah.

Stop reading the latest sensational “If it bleeds it leads” news and think about what’s actually happening to you.

Your current-normal does not have to be about all the things you don’t have, can’t do and can’t control. Except when all the effort to adapt needs to bubble over. Then you do. You and everyone else forgives you for loosing it, and you re-direct.

Here’s my current-normal list of things I’ve embraced or have caused delight to see from others.

  • No bra or make-up
  • Singing out your front door
  • Easter egg hunts that fill the whole neighborhood with paper eggs in windows
  • Seeing friends who’s faces I haven’t seen in years.
  • Working on things that make me happy that I haven’t been able to ever find time to do
  • Cooking at home from scratch
  • The importance of parks
  • Way more dog walks
  • Yelling friendly greetings to strangers who are walking on the other side of the street
  • Ringing the doorbell and running away so that people who have a package on their front porch know it
  • Setting up chairs in our front yard facing the street
  • Offering to pick up and deliver things our friends need so that we can minimize everyone having to go out
  • Making masks out of wild fabric and using panty liners as a filter
  • Being kinder to people who call to enlist you in their cause
  • Quickly understanding and forgiving people who loose their shit especially since they just forgave you
  • Discovering that Shakespeare can be done beautifully with actors from around the world coming together to create a single cast
  • Virtual coffee and wine
  • Composting
  • Gardening
  • Ordering out to a restaurant as a special treat
  • Realizing how important it is for us to find ways to show people how much you really care and then doing it
  • Forgiveness
  • Bonus: We’re finding out that most of the people who voted in Wisconsin’s April 7, 2020 elections did research and actually read each candidate’s position instead of relying on TV sound bytes or yard signs to form their opinions before mailing their ballot or standing in line for hours to vote.

What will our post-social-distancing dreams be about? Who knows but I hope they’re vivid.

G’Night. Sleep tight. Don’t let the COVID bite.

 

I’m Susan Scot Fry, the author of “A Year of Significance”. In 2020, I started writing again. With a dollop of aplomb sauce. Honest, occasionally humorous and sometimes I swear.