“What dreams mean?” is a common search term. I interpret my dreams to provide clarity for me and you. Our dreams are different but our thoughts are common. We are humans after all. In the following pages, I document a recent dream as best I can recall and deconstruct it.
The Dream – Carlton’s
So I had a dream last night that I ran a place called Carlton’s. This is a thread story of course for Thursday Thoughts and if you know me, my dreams are always ridiculous but tells of my subconscious mind.
A yellow, softly lit Carlton’s sign rests over the door….
I step in and take in the entire space. The area had the decor of a dimly like steakhouse. Near the door was the well lit and raised platform, where orders could be picked up from by the waitstaff and where dry cleaning can be dropped off and picked up…
Yes, Carlton’s was a restaurant and a dry cleaners and for good measure, included a tailor. I do not know why. My brain trolls me throughout life. As I take in the space, a few members of the staff start to appear, wearing the typical apparel.
As I am figuring out what to do first with this hot clusterfuck, a staff member states that it isn’t fair that I get to run the establishment with no experience just because I inherited it from the previous owner. A few of the staff murmurs in agreement.
Fuck them, I didn’t ask for this. I look around and give a quick speech. “This wasn’t my choice. I am only following the order of the law as it was laid out to me. We can work together and make Carlton’s the most successful hybrid it can be given the circumstances.
A female staff member starts to fuss. She raises her voice to get my attention and I look at her. She begins ranting about some nonsense about me and then I swiftly reply “I don’t fucking care” and turn and walk away. Of course she gets even more into it, following me to the to the nearest table where I take a seat to plan my next move.
As she gets closer and louder, another staff member hands me a note. I read the note that says “Staff shouldn’t fight, it looks bad to the customers.” At this point a few customers walk through the door.
I fold up the note, tell everyone to get back to work and proceed to look for a broom so I can sweep some of the filth. A staff member points to the broom behind me and I start sweeping out the corner. A grocery bag filled *something* is literally stuffed in the corner…
“What the flying fuck is this?” I ask as I pull the bag out and the contents of chocolate spills out. There are pounds and pounds of gold Reese’s cup chocolates and flies. A staff member pipes up that they give them out to customers as a bonus.
“On what planet?!” was my response
I grab the bag and toss it into the trash. I start sweeping up more nonsense, loose change, dollars and the like. It’s like the place has NEVER been cleaned. The next second, another broom appears next to mine, sweeping as well. I look over and its a little boy, no more than 6 or 7, sweeping. Outside of the restaurant are his parents. They are yelling about the state of this ‘restaurant’ and telling him to come on and they will give this place a 1-star review.
I give the kid a few bucks and send him on his way. Carlton’s is in terrible shape. I am not sure how this hell of an idea even came about (food, cleaners, tailor). A few moments later I wake up.
While Carlton’s was a mess I can clearly see thoughts of my subconscious mind which I will address in another thread. The crazy part is maybe a hybrid like that can work in 2018 with other stuff. Another dream has been recorded and I will make sense of the nonsense.
What Dreams Mean – Carlton’s
So let’s go through the analysis of the dream:
- The name Carlton’s – Its probably named that way because of the connotation of Carlton from Fresh Prince. Boring, safe, predictable and bland. However the actual business is an unexpected combination of ideas.This is can be reflected on my everyday life. To the outside, I am ‘brown and square’ as someone put it. However, only once you get to know me, I am full of all sorts of surprises and talents like a brown pinata. In the corporate environment, I keep those skills under wraps because it is safer for my livelihood that way. Until i am standing on my own, I have to play by the rules a bit.
- The Restaurant – A restaurant is literally a combination of environment and diet. This is telling me that I need to change up my eating habits even more to get out of the situation I am in real life. I work in a basement and eat junk like pop-tarts sometimes.
- The Dry Cleaner – Everything in life needs to be cleaned and pressed. Along with my diet, maybe it is a nod to not being so reserved and taking care of myself. Dry cleaning implies an extra level of care (hence why it wasn’t a laundromat).
- The Tailor – Getting clothes tailored means an upgrade to style & body. While I am working out and doing what I need to do, I feel as though it could be faster and I am looking for a personal trainer going forward. A tailor is a Symbol of Change.
- The Inheritance – I inherited the place. I see it as a metaphor for my life. I woke up one day and wondered what the hell happened. Maybe Carlton’s was the shit years ago and it just became average (or worse). Death by a thousand cuts, but slowly.
- The Staff – I don’t manage others at work in real life but I do have to manage myself. And at many times in my life, I catch myself echoing the same sentiments that the other staff members were saying about my real jobs. I should just do my jobs as asked.
- The Female Staff – She was loud and complained a fair bit about this and that. In my life, I took that role more often than not, whining like a bitch about shit outta my control rather than working on things I can control. Her incessant droning was a reminder of that.
- The Note – I have been keeping a journal for a while now digitally and just started a handwritten journal. The note from the staff was a mental reminder to myself to stay grounded and focus on the task at hand. There is a time and place for everything so focus on what matters.
- The Broom – Sweeping up and cleaning is important. The broom represents new ideas & ACTION which cleaned out the dark corners of my mind. To fully embrace positive change, this must be done. Mentally cleaning is required.
- The Chocolates – I personally stopped eating candy and soda (6 years so far) but the chocolate represents a good idea that has went bad. What good are my ideas that I have sat on and did nothing about. They gathered dust in the corner and thus brought value to no one. They must be tossed out in the most extreme of ways because they are bringing down the entire environment around them. An idea that has spoiled and/or a negative thought accomplishes the same thing: regression of as a whole. This is one reason why I started to actively purge negative thoughts by saying “No” out loud. What I consider negative thoughts? Things like reminiscing about the past or preparing to engage in harmful feedback loops like “if only, etc etc.”
- The Little Boy – An appeal to my innocence and focus on value. Even with all of this going on, I am eager to provide value even in places where people tell me I shouldn’t or places where it doesn’t even make sense. This is the energy I need to move forward.
Carlton’s is just a creative construct of where I am standing in life. I am trying to clean up the shit and make a change but it is of course a lot of work. I need to not lose sight of my Vision and and Values and focus on doing what I can with what I have.
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Featured Image Credit: Photo Background by Gustavo Espíndola on Unsplash
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