PSY-150/Withrow
October 4,
2003
Assignment
#4
Dream
Journal:
In the past
week I have had trouble being able to recall dreams vividly upon awakening.
There was one in particular that stuck with me.
Dream #1:
I’m driving
down I-40 West. I think I am returning from visiting my store at NC State in
Raleigh. About five miles from the Hillsborough exit is a big curve in the highway
that also goes downhill. Coming around this bend in the road, I see a
graveyard. I can tell it’s an old graveyard even though it is very well
manicured, almost to the point of looking like a country club golf course. The
grass was a perfect green and it was extremely flat. All the headstones were
perfectly aligned with one another. Although I’m sure that I was speeding as
usual, it seemed like time slowed down just so I could get a good look.
Strangely enough, I also remember how clean my car was. It wasn’t just like I
had just cleaned it of clutter, it was “dealership clean” and it smelled good.
The air was crisp and clean and even though the sun wasn’t visible, it was
daytime. The sky was a perfect blue, no clouds. Also, my sunroof was closed
which is pretty unusual for me on a nice day. I woke up as soon as passed the
graveyard. But I remember thinking I was relieved to have finally seen that
particular graveyard.
The theme of this dream is possible
rooted in the “a-ha” feeling I remember having in the dream once I discovered
the graveyard on the side of the I-40. In matching the theme to life, I think
it has something to do with my persistence in wanting to be right. This is a
bad habit I have had since I can remember and the basis of the majority of
disagreements I have with family and people very close to me. According to
information on sleeps.com, my car must symbolize the direction in which I am
heading. This makes sense since I have been working on my problem of trying to
be right all the time. I realize that this habit causes unnecessary stress and
is source of some unhappiness.
I don’t believe the graveyard is symbol
of anything in particular. The graveyard is actually something that is supposed
to be there that I have never seen. On a return trip from Wilmington, my
boyfriend and I were having a conversation about how long and difficult that
trip used to be before I-40 expanded. In fact, we used to have to travel down
what is called “old 70” when heading back and forth. At this time, my boyfriend
told me about a huge ordeal that happened when I-40 was under construction.
Apparently, there is an old graveyard that happened to lie in the path of
I-40’s construction. In order to preserve the graveyard, the layout of the
highway’s expansion was changed to go around the graveyard rather than through
it. Since I have been told this, I have looked desperately for this graveyard.
I travel down this portion of I-40 several times a week and when I remember to,
I search for this graveyard. Considering the many times I travel in this area,
I sometimes feel that it is impossible for others to know the landmarks around
the highway more than I do. In the dream I finally found it. This proved my
boyfriend was right in his story that I was beginning to believe was a hoax.
During this dream and after the discovery of the graveyard, I didn’t feel the
way I usually do when I have been proven wrong which is angry and disappointed
in myself. I actually felt happy that I had seen the graveyard and not at all bothered
that someone else had to tell me it was there.
