Okay, so yesterday was wild. I woke up sweating after this crazy dream about escalators. Seriously, one was going straight up into the clouds, another was collapsing backwards, and I was stuck on this broken one going nowhere. Felt so real it freaked me out. Coffee didn’t shake it. Figured I’d dig into what these dreams really meant instead of just shrugging it off.
First Step: Dumping Everything In My Head
Grabbed my battered notebook – yeah, the one with coffee stains – and just started scribbling every single detail. Not just “escalator broke.” I wrote how I felt: pure panic, like my gut dropped out. The sound? This awful grinding metal screech. Colors? Everything was weirdly washed out, kinda greyish. Even wrote down where I was going on the escalator: no clue, just up. Felt important.
The Deep Rabbit Hole
Didn’t jump straight to dream dictionaries. Started with my own life. Been feeling stuck at work lately, right? Projects moving slow. Then realized – duh – that collapsing escalator? Felt exactly like that time I almost missed a huge deadline last month, that stomach-lurching dread. Started poking around why escalators specifically. Found out it’s a common symbol for how you think you’re moving in life. Up = progress, down = setbacks, broken = feeling stuck. Bingo.
Talking It Out Loud
Called my buddy Dave who’s into psychology stuff. Laid out the dream: the broken one, the grinding noise, the grey colors, the feeling of going nowhere fast. He didn’t give me an answer, just fired questions back: “You stressed about something specific?” “Anything feel like it’s grinding to a halt?” Made me actually connect it to reality. Suddenly clicked: that grinding sound? Reminded me of the endless, pointless budget meetings at work lately. Literally feels like gears grinding with no progress.
The Lightbulb Moment
So here’s the juice, what I actually learned from all this scrambling around:
- Escalators aren’t about elevators. They’re about how effortless or forced your progress feels. The smooth ride up? Feeling good about direction. The broken one? Yeah, that’s me feeling helpless watching projects stall.
- Direction matters big time. Going down? Might mean fearing failure or slipping back, not just laziness like some sites say.
- The FEELING is the key. Panic? Frustration? Calm? That tells you way more than the stupid escalator itself. My panic showed how deeply worried I am about stalling out.
- Broken escalator = system failure. It’s not just “you’re stuck.” It’s feeling like the mechanism meant to move you forward (like work processes, routines) is busted and you’re powerless to fix it.
Putting it all together wasn’t magic. I woke up thinking “Weird escalator dream,” but by actually writing, digging, and talking, it screamed: “You feel powerless in a broken system right now, and it’s causing deep stress.” Spot on. Doesn’t fix the budget meetings, but knowing where that sinking feeling comes from? Huge relief. Less scary monster in the dark, more like… okay, yeah, that track is definitely wobbly. Time to find a wrench.
