Running in place in dreamland...
Mar. 16th, 2010 07:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jim_pI had an interesting revelation the other day regarding the classic "running through molasses" effect that many people report in their dreams (when that happens to me, either my legs won't move, or more frequently I keep falling down and just can't get my legs under me)
It was one of those "you-had-to-be-there" dreams that make little sense upon awakening. I was on a starship, and I had found a small child who'd wedged himself between decks near a turbolift shaft. He'd been there a while and was hungry and dehydrated. So I bundle him up and start making my way through the passageways of the unfamiliar ship towards Sickbay. The signage is confusing, and I end up retracing my steps a number of times.
Finally, I spot my destination. At that moment the ship goes on Red Alert and gates start coming down to close off various sections. A guard is manually closing the gate to the Sickbay section, and I shout "Hold on! Medical emergency! Coming through!", and I turn to run in that direction...
...and that's when my legs refuse to move. Prior to this time I was runing around in circles back and forth at normal speed, but now that I suddenly had to Get Somewhere Fast, I couldn't move. The kid, who up till this point was mostly ambulatory, suddenly turned into a dead weight in my arms.
I s-l-o-w-l-y make my way towards the gate, to sarcastic comments from the guard ("Any day now!"). Finally I made it through... and I was back to running around again.
It never occurred to me before how immobility is tied to urgency, at least in my dreams...
It was one of those "you-had-to-be-there" dreams that make little sense upon awakening. I was on a starship, and I had found a small child who'd wedged himself between decks near a turbolift shaft. He'd been there a while and was hungry and dehydrated. So I bundle him up and start making my way through the passageways of the unfamiliar ship towards Sickbay. The signage is confusing, and I end up retracing my steps a number of times.
Finally, I spot my destination. At that moment the ship goes on Red Alert and gates start coming down to close off various sections. A guard is manually closing the gate to the Sickbay section, and I shout "Hold on! Medical emergency! Coming through!", and I turn to run in that direction...
...and that's when my legs refuse to move. Prior to this time I was runing around in circles back and forth at normal speed, but now that I suddenly had to Get Somewhere Fast, I couldn't move. The kid, who up till this point was mostly ambulatory, suddenly turned into a dead weight in my arms.
I s-l-o-w-l-y make my way towards the gate, to sarcastic comments from the guard ("Any day now!"). Finally I made it through... and I was back to running around again.
It never occurred to me before how immobility is tied to urgency, at least in my dreams...
