Waking Up in a Lion’s Cage
The first dream I ever remember having was when I was 5 or 6 years old. And to this day, the dream is still incredibly vivid. I can feel the little hairs on my arm stand up as I think about it now.
In this dream, I woke up in a lion’s cage.
The lion was asleep on the other side of the cage, maybe 10 yards away. My blood started pumping and I tried to keep myself calm.
Ok, the lion is sleeping. I told myself.
It’s going to be ok.
I started looking for a way to get out.
Maybe I can get out safely before the lion even wakes up.
Where is the door?
There must be a door!
No door. I looked everywhere. Up and down, left and right, all around. There were only bars – cold, metal, red bars on every side of me, with no door in sight.
Help!
There must be someone around that can help!
I looked again in every direction, looking beyond the cage this time.
There must be someone?!
No one. There was no one and nothing in sight. Just an infinite room with grey cement floors and a white ceiling.
The lion stirred. Panic came over me.
I am going to be eaten by this lion!
My whole body started to shake. My mind went blank.
The lion calmly stretched its limbs and blinked its eyes open, slowly waking from what must have been a deep sleep.. Then I saw its tongue.
Locking eyes with me it licked its lips.
I stood up and pressed myself against the back of the cage, trying to slip my leg through. No luck.
With my heart pounding through my chest, I watched as the lion slowly stood up. It took one step towards me and then another. I screamed at the top of my lungs, as loud as I could while keeping my eyes glued on the lion’s eyes.
It picked up speed as it got closer.
I was paralyzed, standing in one place… Screaming.
Once it was only a couple of feet from me, the lion opened its mouth ready for its breakfast.
Out of some kind of unexpected instinct, I opened my mouth too, as wide as I could.
And I ate that lion in one big bite.
That’s when I woke up. I was sweating, my heart was racing. With the next breath, I felt a smile on my face.
Even when the circumstances seem insurmountable, we can surprise ourselves. We are often more powerful than we believe ourselves to be.
