I had a dream last night in which I was getting away by myself, taking a long, fast-paced walk. I was in the country or a hilly park, and I was moving quickly. It might have been early morning or nearing dusk, or it may have just been an overcast day. I passed a couple of men who were approaching a field, and they may have been on their way to go fishing. I noticed a bear in the field. A young grizzly. I made sure to stay clear of it, and vaguely wondered how the men would fare, as their path was more in direct line with the bear. I actually thought to call out to them, to warn them, but I thought that might do more harm than good, since it would alarm the bear. I concluded that they would shortly discover the bear on their own, and would likely steer clear of it as well. I hoped all would be well for all of them.
I thought it was strange to see a bear in such a place, but not completely unheard of, as I continued forward. I was much more surprised to come upon three lions, hunkered in the grass. One was a big male, with the full mane, and the other two were females. Again, I steered clear, and tried not to catch their attention. They showed no interest in me.
When I stumbled upon the rhinoceros, I thought to myself, this is a bit much. I’m not in a zoo, so why on earth would there first be a bear, then lions, and now a rhino in this area???! The rhino was running away, clambering out of a water hole and up the far bank, in a hurry. So I wasn’t in any danger. I suppose it might have been a hippo. It was large and grey. It was moving fast, and wanted to get away from me, whatever it was.
I rounded another bend and spied a tiger in the grass. Only this time, the tiger spied me as well. We locked gazes. Oh crap, I thought. What am I going to do now? I continued, as nonchalantly as I could, keeping as wide a berth as possible. I kept my eyes on the tiger, and he kept his eyes on me, but he didn’t pounce and he didn’t charge, but he looked like he could at any moment. I didn’t have adrenalin coursing through me, and I wasn’t terrified, but I was concerned for my predicament, that could very easily end very badly.
I woke up, distraught, and heard myself narrate the dream out loud. I don’t know who I thought I was speaking to, but for some reason, I felt like I had to give voice to the dream.
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Now that I’m awake, a song from Les Mis comes to mind (I dreamed a dream). “And the tigers come at night, with their voices soft as thunder. As they tear your hope apart and they turn your dreams to shame.”
Interesting, only just now I realize the name of that song is “I dreamed a dream”. It’s also interesting that neither the bear, the lions, nor the rhinoceros posed any threat. The tiger was the only one to be wary of.
I shall have to ponder this more. Perhaps I can map what the animals represent.
