Of sinking ships....

I had a dream this morning right before waking that I was on a sinking ship in a violent storm. Another ship was nearby and friends both on my ship and the other one were trying to get me off the ship—everyone off the ship. They explained that there would be a moment when the ship was underwater enough that a great surge would come and flood everything enough that I wouldn’t be able to get out. The forces would just be too strong. One man stayed with me as long as possible, but then he was gone. I started to see the sea level rise nearer the threshold of the doorway I was in. Then the door shut. In a last, desperate attempt I shoved the door open and jumped into the waves of the storm hoping to surface and find the other ship. 

Navigating collapse

I don’t think it would be hard to “interpret” this dream in the context of our world today. It raises a lot of questions, though. Why didn’t I leave the sinking ship when the new ship first showed up? Why did two people work to get everyone off the ship and spend so much time allowing me the choice to stay on? Would I have chosen to go down with the ship? What was holding me back? I remember in the dream the light from the hallway and the comfort of the paneling and the “known” feel of the ship. Was it fear of not making it to the new ship? The storm? Was it just the panic of BEING on a sinking ship that froze me? Where did I find the strength to shove open a door shut by a surging sea? Instinct drove me into action, and I found myself leaping into the waves filled with regret that I hadn’t acted sooner.

If we put the dream into the context of our lives and use it as a metaphor, how does it resonate? What is your “sinking ship”? What choices are you being asked to make? What strength and resolve are needed for action?