Am I the only one who is dreaming in both physical and digital formats?

I am no dream expert. But I do get a sense, intuitively, that we can learn about ourselves from our dreams.

As a lifelong learner and educator, I have had many dreams in which I am still a student enrolled in class. I dream I forgot to do my homework. I guess, that is not hard to believe since I have spent most of my life in the classroom- both as teacher and learner. (I earned my master’s degree in 2007 and my PhD in 2012.) Or, as an educator, I dream that I forgot my lesson plans or that the students are completely unruly. Or- even that quintessential dream of showing up without your clothes (in the classroom, of course)!

In the past couple of years, I have had dreams in digital formats. I am online, at the computer, in a virtual space, or juggling screens.

Recently, I had a vivid dream in which many of my colleagues were present. We were attending some sort of staff development and had been asked to come prepared with a Powerpoint slide show or something. You know how you can’t really describe what happens in a dream in words. Whatever it was that I was suppose to bring….well, I was not prepared.

My supervisor said, “Wow! What is this! You always are on top of this!! Did you not get the email?”

Here is the vivid part of the dream, which was in color and was powerfully emotional. Tears filled up my eyes (and I don’t easily cry at sappy movies or anything). I had this sense of -enough is enough! I had this sense of admitting to everyone present something that I had been holding in for a long, long time.

With tearful eyes, I blurted out, “I am drowning in emails!”

It was a moment of complete surrender. I felt more a sense of relief and release than defeat. I had reached the limit and could not take one more step.

Thanks for reading this, dear reader. I just had to tell someone.