LOOK FOR REVERSALS OR CONTRADICTORY ELEMENTS IN YOUR DREAMS. They will show you the crux of the decision you are bound to make. Today’s dreamer asks, “Should I stay or should I go?”

Dear SMYD,

Many of my friends and family members in my age group seem excited about the idea of retirement. It has taken me a while to warm up to it. I guess I have been a little anxious about what I would do or even who I would be if I’m not working any more. I still plan to work a while longer, but over the past year or so retirement has become more and more appealing, probably because things at work just are not what they used to be. I keep it to myself, but my new boss is really just a jerk and the new direction of the company leaves me pretty dissatisfied and ready to take the retirement plunge. I could be a positive influence, but I feel like no one wants to hear what I have to say.

I was thinking about this last night, and then I had this dream: I’m traveling with a group of people to China or Russia — a big foreign country — and I feel like I’m defecting! We have reached the border and are lined up to go through customs. Each person ahead of me presents his documents to the agent and is cleared to pass through.

But when it comes to my turn, I don’t seem to have my passport or any other paperwork to satisfy the agent. He blows his whistle and I am escorted to a holding area where I must wait. This makes me frustrated and tired. I want to go with my co-workers!

Signed, Still Got Game

Dear Gamer,

Your dream has chosen a vast foreign country to represent your frame of mind about retirement. It is the great unknown to you, as you said; who will you be and what will you do when you enter that wide-open expanse? The feeling of defection in your dream mirrors the feelings you have about your long-time workplace — you could be, and still want to be, helpful. Therefore you can’t help thinking of retirement as escaping under adverse circumstances — a coward’s way out from a fighter’s point of view.

Then comes the reversal: Even though you feel a bit cowardly about leaving, when you find yourself blocked at the exit you feel frustrated and angry. Your peers get to go ahead of you! Smooth sailing for them! It’s just not fair! You are escorted to a holding tank, a penalty box of sorts, where you must wait “a while longer” and watch until your time comes.

Your dream illustrates the dilemma you’re faced with, Dear Dreamer, a sort of damned-if-I-do, damned-if-I don’t predicament. It’s a normal state of mind for someone like you who is making his peace with one phase of life before moving on to the next. All in good time.

Sweet Dreams to you!

Carolyn Plath, M.Ed., is a Benicia resident and member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Reach her at sendmeyourdreams@yahoo.com.

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