I was having a little chit & chat before a meeting with some people I know casually. They somehow got themselves around to talking about dreams. One of them had recently had the classic recurring school dream of taking a final exam and you realize you didn’t study/never attended class. I mentioned that I’d never had the “back in school” dream and was told of course I had, everyone has, I just don’t remember.

Now I don’t remember a lot of things, but I do know what kind of anxiety dreams I have.

Being told I ‘just didn’t remember’ told me more about him than it did about me. Seems he wants his experience to be universal, his anxiety centers around personal performance, or forgetting responsibilities, regret or paths not taken. More importantly he is someone who thinks he knows more about me than I know about me, and isn’t afraid to say so. Valuable information to have when forming a new business relationship.

It also amazes me how much people will reveal to an “almost stranger”. Maybe they don’t know what insights they provide. Or maybe they do.

During the dream chit chat I was thinking that one recurring dream I have is being chased, attacked and physically fighting for my life – in ever changing venues and situations just to spice things up. That recurring dream leaves so much open for interpretation that I can’t see how or why I would share it with casual acquaintances.

I know I am guarded. That’s a hurdle I may never jump.

But casually intimate people can be casually hurtful just as easily. So in a world where peoples personal “layers” are displayed like a parfait in clear glass, I will continue to wear my layers like an onion.