Dreaming the Future

Even though dreams have the potential to reveal the future, the particular dream in question lacks coherence. The dreamer pondered whether dream foresight could empower individuals to alter their destiny.

However, this notion seemed dubious. If dreams indeed foretell the future, then the future would already be predetermined. Consequently, free will and personal accountability would be rendered obsolete.

The dream occurred during a journey four years ago when the dreamer was driving his family back from Italy through southern France. Fatigued and fixated on driving, the dreamer spent the night in Tain l'Hermitage before experiencing the vivid dream. In the dream, he found himself in a cream-colored car hurtling towards a large lorry with no means of control. A stranger in the car took charge, skillfully navigating the vehicle. As they approached a woman selling flowers by a white house, a catastrophic collision with the lorry unfolded, culminating in an explosion that jolted the dreamer awake in terror. The dream left the dreamer unsettled, prompting a search for its meaning. The fear embedded in the dream wasn't about avoiding lorries on the road to Paris, as encountering large lorries was inevitable.

Instead, the dream's essence lay in a deeper fear that needed acknowledgment and resolution. Reflecting on his driving experiences, the dreamer recalled passing a lorry on the right, indicating that the dream road was likely in England where driving customs differ from France. A recollection surfaced of a past incident in England where the dreamer's American companion engaged in reckless driving behaviors, including a dangerous game of 'chicken.' This memory, along with the purchase of a hat in Chesterfield, seemed to have subconsciously influenced the dream.

The dreamer also noted the parallels between the lorries' road behavior and the reckless driving encountered previously, further cementing the link between past experiences and the unsettling dream.

He drove on the left instead of staying on the right side of the road. There was space on the right for me to pass him, but I refrained. I followed him for a few kilometers, contemplating the situation. I realized I could maneuver my car faster than his large, heavy truck. The thought of passing him quickly on the right crossed my mind, but the risk of a fatal accident stopped me. The road ahead was clear, stretching for many kilometers. I slowed down to create distance between us before accelerating. As I approached the empty space next to the lorry at 110 kilometers per hour, I noticed a woman sitting outside a white house with a table of flowers. This sight made me abruptly change my decision to overtake. I braked hard, allowing a cream-colored car behind me to pass. As the car overtook us, it narrowly avoided a collision with the lorry. The slight contact between the two vehicles caused the car to swerve towards the roadside where the woman was seated. The car's driver expertly regained control and drove off in anger.

We stayed that night in Fontainebleau. A big car was standing outside the hotel, and the back showed signs of damage to the paintwork. It was a cream car, and so I looked for the driver. He was not wearing a red hat or an expensive shirt.

He was a young man from Paris - not like the driver in my dream. He spoke good English, so I asked him if he would like the number of that lorry. I had noticed it, and I was happy to give it to him. But he only laughed; the law won't help you if you pass on the wrong side of the road.

To him the whole thing had been a game. 'It tests your skill,' he said. 'If the car is powerful enough, you can do it. But you couldn't do it, not in your car.' I didn't tell him about my dream, my reason for not passing the lorry. There was no time; he was in a hurry and wanted to reach Paris quickly. It made me think, though. I don't really believe in dreams, of course; but something saved us all from a terrible death.