This is what happens when I get distracted.. Nothing.
As far back as I can remember I’ve always have had an active dream life. I’ve been told the average number of dreams people have each night is 3-5. However, remembering those dreams are an entirely different story. Usually when I wake up I can remember tidbits of a dream or two but by the end of the day I can’t remember any of them. Occasionally I’ll have such a vivid and powerful dream that when I wake up I can remember every detail for weeks. These types of dreams always speak to me. I’ve learned to pay attention to them because often I discover the symbolism in them is applicable to my life.
Two nights ago I had the strangest dream. I was in the car with my kids attempting to drive them to school. However, my driveway was filled with cars belonging to mafia-type people. At first only one car was blocking me and I thought to myself, “No problem, I’ll just drive around them”. The next thing you know several cars were blocking me. The scene then changed to my dining room where all these gangsters and a well known celebrity were sitting around the table with my belongings I treasure. I pleaded with each of them to give my my stuff back to me but they wouldn’t.
When I woke from the dream I started processing it immediately. What did it all mean? The answer was so clear I wanted to share it with you because I know there are people who will read this post and relate to what I’m about to share.
I believe this dream was a warning not to allow distractions to prevent me from getting what I need to get done each day. If I let one distraction detour me then it’s only a matter of time before other distractions attach themselves, snowballing on top of one another, and preventing me from accomplishing anything. Distractions will rob you of everything you value including joy, peace, opportunities, relationships, sleep, etc.
I should have listened to my dream because last night I stayed up far too late when I should have been sleeping. I woke up grumpy because of lack of sleep and as a result didn’t accomplish anything I had hoped to get done.
So today I am going to stay off the computer as much as possible except to write my posts. I’m also going to bed early and spend the day getting things done around here. Already I can see the “dishes” and the “laundry” are already ganging up on me and my only enabling friend to be found is “overwhelmed”.
How do you handle distractions?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dreams are so fascinating aren’t they? I remember having similar ones like that. I end up writing down whatever i can remember. I actually look back at it oncec in a LONG while and it makes me wonder what was going on in my life that would cause me to have that dream.
I’m always wrapped up in so many things that I lose sense of what i’m trying to do. Maybe I’m doing a little too much or not enough? That all plagues my mind. I try to find at least 5 minutes of “me” time to try to calm down and figure out what the heck is going on.
Hi Alice,
I’ve been enjoying your new blog so much. Every post has resonated with me and reminded me to take time to re-assess certain areas of my life. I tend to be a very focused person, but do fall into the trap of getting distracted sometimes. Often my distractions are my thoughts and worries. I tend to worry about things that haven’t happened, or that I can’t control. For 2010 I wrote down a list of goals I want to work on throughout the year. One of them is to stop worrying about events I can’t control. Doing this will, in turn, free my mind from the distracting (and draining) activity of worrying needlessly so I can focus more on the present and all the things in my life that are great. Thanks!