ABOUT THAT SNAKE IN THE GRASS

Rebecca from Maine sent me this dream:

I’m in Italy with some of my co-workers and we’re walking along the main grounds leading to a museum.  There’s a landscaped area of tall grass and flowering bushes which separates where we are from this beautiful fountain in front of the museum.  A walkway leads from our position and curves around the landscaped area at the fountain. I want to get a closer look at the fountain and I decide to cut through the tall grass.

One of my friends shouts out to me, “Be careful.  There are probably snakes in the grass.”  I go traipsing through the underbrush to reach the fountain.  Sure enough there’s a snake and it starts to crawl up inside my jeans, up my leg.  It bites me a few times and I grab the tail and yank it out and smash its head on the ground.  When it’s dead, I unzip my pants and pull it down.  There are about 10 bites along my leg and thigh.

People are watching and an Italian guy comes running into the grass shouting, “Call 911!”  The guy reaches me, pats my head and tells me in Italian, “Relax, it’s not a poisonous snake.  You’ll be all right.”  I get dizzy and pass out.  After a while, I regain consciousness in the dream and I feel fine.  Someone has pulled my jeans back on, and I’m in front of the fountain surrounded by my co-workers.  Some of them disapprove of what I did and give me dirty looks.  Others admire my courage.

This is definitely a work-related dream.  The fact that Rebecca and her co-workers are in Italy in this dream suggests that this is regarding a new project they’ll be working on, or an assignment which is somewhat “foreign” to them.

They know their goal, however, even if they’re not necessarily familiar with all the elements of it. Research (museum) will be required.  The end result can be beautiful and very emotionally satisfying (fountain).

Rebecca is a bit of a risk-taker.  Apparently there is a traditional pathway to reach their goal, but she likes short-cuts.  Apparently, she’s going to take a short-cut to accomplish her share of the work.  While the snake in the grass can symbolize someone in the group who sabotages her progress, it can also symbolize an aspect of herself which slows down her forward momentum.

Rebecca, I would ask you:

1)     Do you sometimes get frustrated with the time element of completing a project?

2)    Are you willing to sabotage teamwork progress in order to prove yourself a better worker than those around you?

3)    Do you often make decisions and “lead” others in ways which are beyond the “scope” of your job?

The fact that she pulls the snake out, kills it, discovers the “bites” and survives a non-toxic situation suggests she’ll ultimately triumph and reach her objective.  Since it’s an Italian who runs to rescue and comfort her, she can expect support to come from an “outside” source.  Meanwhile, her co-workers will have mixed feelings about her.

This is both a reassuring dream and a warning dream.  It reassures Rebecca she and her team will achieve their goal, despite some eventful dramas.  It also warns Rebecca that she needs to re-evaluate her role as a team player.  Is it really a good idea to go off “solo” in a rush to reach a goal?