Sleepless Paths

In my travels this weekend I was able to see quite a bit of CNN. As I said previously, CNN seems to be the least sensationalist, but it is still a sensory overload. It was possibly due to the air mattress that kept losing air, but I think a large part was due to the sensory overload from the images I saw; the end result was that I didn't sleep but a few nightmares worth this past weekend.

I kept dreaming that I was in the middle of it all. I wasn't a trapped resident, but I dreamt I was down there to help. So I was in the middle of the city, trying to do something, but the underlying theme was that I was unable to accomplish anything. You know that frustrating feeling in the dream? You're trying to run, or trying to stand up, or trying to punch or kick, but you just can't? Yeah, I kept seeing people going under, losing their footing and splashing into the murk. And having lifeguarded for 7 years, I'm extremely capable of helping that individual...but I was impotent to do anything. Fighting to move through the water and every corner I turned or landmark I passed would suddenly put me in an entirely different part of the city; worse than before, more devastation, more people calling for a hand against the floods, against weakness, against those few individuals who are making things worse for everyone else as if they were a Lord of the Flies.

Well, maybe it was working through everything on the drive back yesterday (amazing what a little alone time for self-reflection can do). Anyways, I slept a bit easier last night. I still dreamt about my home, but it wasn't in the first person this time and it wasn't the sole object of my dreams, either. Guess it just takes a bit to sink in. And if just seeing my old haunts on TV has this effect on me, I can only imagine the stress put on those individuals without that comfort of thier own bed to sleep it off in.