An Aborted Flight?

The dream this morning was about being a pilot of a 747 airliner. I arrive late in the afternoon at the airport. I am in civilian attire and I am told the flight must absolutely get out on time. So the heck with changing into a pilot's uniform. I get to the cockpit and the co-pilot and I are going through the pre-flight checks. I suddenly realize we have no navigation electronics on board! I am in a panic. I am not a highly skilled and experienced pilot, and they expect me to fly this plane without a navigation package! That ain't going to happen. I see myself installing the electronics into an overhead console. At this point in the narrative I look out the forward window and see a severe rain storm going on outside. The radio informs us that the flight has been cancelled due to hurricane conditions for the whole region. It is just too dangerous to fly, and even if we could, no other airports would be open for us to land toward our final destination. I wake up relieved that I can stand down and will not be forced to make a dangerous flight in an ill-equiped plane! Thank God!

It should be noted I was watching do-it-yourself flight simulator construction videos on You Tube last night. There is also tropical storm Debbie in the news, hitting the west coast of Florida, as I write this. Perhaps, I am channeling the real experience of a pilot in Tampa? It could just be a bubbling up of unconscious relevant material related to what I watched yesterday. Whatever, the case may be, it certainly had a deep emotional impact on me.

There are metaphors to be gleaned from this. The dream reflects the emotions I am experiencing with my current internship at the hospital. I sure do feel like a pilot who was given an ill-equiped plane who has been set up to fail. I am happy to have a brief respite from the tension of the present situation. I don't want to think about when the clouds clear and I am expected to fly this damn plane somewhere! Oh! Truthfully, I want to walk away from these real world and dream concerns.

Well, it is late now. I must get to sleep. We'll hope for happy dreams, happier flights, and pleasant landings.