Dreams (The Sleeping Kind)

I've always fancied myself somewhat of a psychic... Haha, OK not really. But I have lots of dreams that are always a little more coherent than dreams should be. 

Often they are about very deep, spiritual subject matter, like finding that sock I've been looking for since last week, or that one where you get up and shower and do your ponytail and get all ready for work and wake up and realize you didn't do any of those things. But sometimes, my dreams are ADVENTURES!

The latest dream that I had involved a complicated treasure hunt...

I was part of a team of adventurers, seeking treasure based on an old map, some complicated clues, and a number of challenging physical obstacles. 

We solved riddles, climbed mountains, dug holes, and talked to creepy native shopkeepers.

I was leading this team of explorers, because in this dream I was back to the Jackie that used to be super brilliant and also fit enough to climb rocks and run from bad guys.

Our journey finally led us to a tiny cavern, hidden deeeeep in a complicated system of caves that only I could navigate. The final treasure lay hidden inside a little hole in the rock. All my associates were like six feet tall and therefore way too giant to fit in the little treasure-tunnel. 

Being the brave and tiny adventuress that I am, I courageously volunteered to climb into the spooky hole.

Once inside, it took a little while for my eyes to adjust to the absence of light. There were all sorts of spooky cave noises and probably scorpions and stuff, but it was too dark to see and I was too courageous to care.

And there, in the darkness, lay a tiny scrap of paper containing the last clue to finding the wondrous hidden treasure...

Of course! The treasure had been all around me the whole time, and I had been too focused on my objective to notice! I thought those rocks looked strange... No naturally occurring mineral says "Kit-Kat" on it, at least not in any caves I've been in lately.

Having discovered the true nature of the treasure, I wasn't about to let my loser teammates mooch off all my glory. 

I retraced my steps out of the cave, shoveling candy-pebbles into my mouth, my pockets, my socks... 

And then, all of a sudden, my hard-earned prize was so cruelly snatched from me by the deceitful mistress that is Morning.

And thus -- abruptly -- ends the tale of Jackie the Great Adventurer, Solver of Mysteries and Devourer  of Candy Rocks.

But, being the insightful dream decoder that I am, I came up with these two interpretations for my nighttime adventure story: 

FIRST

Clearly, the team in my dream represents the people that surround me and support me, such as friends and family, etc. 

My renewed intelligence represents my unlocked potential, that I can obviously still access with the help of my team of supporters. 

The treasure map represents my education, or the foundation for intelligence that I have laid out for me already. See Fig. 1

Fig. 1, y'all

Thus it follows that the various riddles and challenges I faced during my journey represent the ongoing struggle for understanding and enlightenment, as well as the inevitable toil of living in general.

The tiny hole in the wall represents my personal destiny, that only I can achieve or understand, and that end goal which I alone can focus on and strive toward.

And the final treasure, the candy pebbles, represents the understanding that the greatest reward in life often goes unnoticed because in our single-minded race for some unknown prize, we often miss the seemingly insignificant little joys that sprinkle the path on the journey that is our lives. 

SECOND

I really like candy. And adventures. But mostly candy.

I'll leave it up to you guys to decide which is the more accurate meaning.