Are You Becoming a Zombie?

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,

Since the loss of my husband, I live alone and spend my evenings watching TV.  But I don’t watch indiscriminately.  There are plenty of good programs to choose from nowadays!  I’m a big fan of “Walking Dead,” but it’s not the only TV show I watch.  Then when I had this dream, I began to wonder if I should change my viewing habits!  Tell me what you think.

In the first part of the dream I learn that my friend “Ellie” has died.  Many of our women friends are upset and worried.  One of them, “Missy,” who’s just as smart, skilled and funny as Ellie says, “What will we do without her?”  This surprises me a little.  I didn’t know she was that well regarded.  I think it’s sad that she’s gone, but we are strong enough to manage without her.

Then, Ellie and I are sitting together and she’s not dead.  But she’s explaining to me the first symptoms she noticed before she became a zombie!  Her toenail popped off.  We look down at her feet and see it happen.  This worries me, because I had a toenail pop off too!

Next someone is telling me to use a whistle to change my voice.  “No one will know it’s you,” they say.  This bothers me too.  Why would I want to change my voice?  Why would I not want to be recognized?  I don’t feel totally afraid, just a little, but I don’t like any of this!  Then I wake up.

Signed,

Am I Becoming a Zombie?

 

Dear Zombie,

It would be easy enough to start these comments with an admonition about becoming a zombie in front on your TV set!  That caution could be worth considering:  Take an objective look at the time you spend with your electronic pal.  Have you slipped into a passive habit unintentionally?

But your dream includes two friends so I’m encouraged to believe that the TV isn’t your only outlet, or at least, it hasn’t always been.  You have been an active part of a group of lively and stimulating women.  Perhaps you’ve become less engaged with them for some reason.  Your dream suggests that a part of you is puzzled and worried at your level of disengagement.  Are you just going through the motions, somehow, like the walking dead?

Your dream also suggests that you are more highly regarded than you know.  If after your loss, you’ve removed yourself from the action, so to speak, the smart, funny, skilled part of yourself asks the question of your less active, more zombie-like self, “What will we do without her?”  On some level this is the question you’re asking yourself. 

You know it’s happening to you.  You recognize the symptoms as your own.  But why would you change your voice and go unrecognized?  Why become a zombie when you have a fun and engaging life calling to you?  You are strong enough to go on, Dear Dreamer!  You control the remote!  

Sweet Dreams to You!

SMYD

sendmeyourdreams@mail.com