I’m Coming

There was no accurate count, but it appeared to be thousands, maybe tens of thousands. All were human in form, waving their hands, apparently trying to get my attention. Many held signs.  Do It Now!  Don’t Wait-Tomorrow Isn’t Promised!  Keep Moving!

The sign that really got my attention said I’m Coming Sooner Than You Think! It was held by a very pale male of undetermined age, dressed entirely in black.

I wondered why snippets of advice were now personified, a crowd of individuals carrying signs advocating specific and generic actions or shouting out warnings. My analytical side assumed the man in black was Death. My logical side reminded me this was a dream. The woman by my side woke me up with the words “you must have been having a nightmare.”

I don’t usually assign meaning to dreams; I believe they are merely tangled fragments of thoughts being reorganized while we sleep. Dreams are the brain defragging its hard drive.

One image from that dream worth remembering, however, is I’m Coming Sooner Than You Think. Death usually shows up without much warning, often uninvited. “Sooner” could be 30 years from now. It could also come in 30 days or 30 minutes. Seconds.

There were other signs in that dream. Retire Now. So Much To Do, So Little Time.

Is it my imagination or did we have more time to do things years or decades ago? Our lives are so busy now.

Another trigger for this line of thought today, in addition to the dream, was the Washington Post Arts & Style section. Concerts, symphonies, museums, Carol Burnett’s tour stop at the Kennedy Center, DC Jazzfest. A half-page ad for Wolf Trap, my favorite local outdoor venue, telling me Kenny G, Alanis Morisette and Ziggy Marley are all performing there this summer.

So many options for things to do and see, so little time. Little time on a daily basis and little time left in life, even if years and decades are left.

Prioritizing time is a challenge. I worked fifty hours this past week and spent five hours commuting to and from work.  I played too, but not all that much.

I’m Coming Sooner Than You Think might be a sign utilizing more than one definition of the word ‘sign’.  It’s a sign that it’s time to spend more time on fun and less on obligations. Or to quote one of my favorite movie lines: it’s time to get busy living or get busy dying.