Missing trains -- what does it mean?

Okay... I'm a bit lost because I've been making the same kind of dream for a few months now, and it's difficult to figure out what exactly they're trying to tell me.

Since University started in January this year, I've been a bit depressed... Christmas vacation was too short, the subjects I had to take weren't that interesting, lots of work, paperwork, and it's cold in Canada.

Over these few months, I kept on having similar dreams every week. I would end up in a train station of some kind, and I would miss my train.

Usually I'm meeting friends at the station, in the train, or at the train's destination. Invariably, something comes up that causes me to miss the train or be late:

The taxi drive to the train station was too slow
I couldn't buy a train ticket because the machine only accepted US coins and cigarettes as payment
I even missed a boat once, I was running after it, trying to grab a friend's hand so I could climb aboard as the boat departed, but I didn't run fast enough
Several times, the train station was just this gigantic maze of stairs, I could see the train, but I couldn't see how to get to the stairs leading to the right platform

In some of them, a friend or group of friends would be with me, and they would always get on the train, but I'd fail to get on. In one of the dreams, I was with a friend who seemed depressed in real life, and we both missed the train.

In most of those dreams, I would be given the opportunity to do something drastic to get on the train... Like getting on without paying, pushing people aside to get to the door before it closes, getting on while it's already moving, walking across the tracks instead of taking the stairs, or simply running...

Whenever I got a choice like that, I would make a run for it, and halfway through, realize that it was either too risky, too difficult or not worth the effort, and I would give up.

The dream often ended with my friends seeing me the next day, asking why I wasn't there.

Now, I interpreted all this as an obvious sign that all this procrastination I had been doing, the lack of motivation, the depression, were all causing a lot of guilt. If I put a little more effort into things, I would not have to face all these problems I was creating, I would not disappoint my friends, etc.

Well, in the end I did beat the depression, I gave it a push before the semester ended, got pretty good grades, sorted out all my problems... I've been on vacation for a month now, I've got money, food, I started repainting my kitchen, I'm doing some writing... Motivation's back, I'm back, so everything should be fine, right?

Then, why am I still dreaming of missing trains? It happened again two nights in a row.. Even though there's nothing to procrastinate on!

To be fair though, now that stress levels have gone down, I'm getting more than 3 dreams a night, compared to 3 a week when I was in my "depressed phase" -- so I'm not dreaming of missing trains only, the dream landscape is quite varied.

But still, shouldn't the train dreams stop occurring? Most other patterns died out when the related problems were taken care of.

Could I have misinterpreted this one? Or is the problem still there? I wonder.

Trains can be symbols of "taking a journey", or using a chance, and if you had said you were failing at your studies, or isolating yourself, I'd have guessed it'd mean "work harder".

But you said you passed your tests well, and feel not quite at ease with the interpretation, and the dreams persist.

You say others travel, but you don't. Perhaps you are not at ease with the direction your life is taking, while others are with theirs? Perhaps their life is "to be on the train", while for you it would involve making some deal that you don't want to make?

I'm speculating, I know. But are you okay with your choice of studies and future career? Is it what you want to spend the rest of your life doing? If it is, another reason is likely, but if you are not - is there a better choice you dare not to make?

Please - this is only my speculation. If you ask yourself these questions, what comes up is what truely matters. Perhaps you'd like to do this, and perhaps you will share this as well?

Nice dreams!
Oliver

This is just a theory about the symbolism. The train may be an opportunity that you have in the near future, but you are going to miss it due to minor annoyances. Everyone else will take the journey or opportunity, except you. Maybe the dream is warning you not to let these little setbacks keep you from doing great things. I hope it doesn' trouble you for too long! :)

Hello Kiwi :)

Well, trains and boats both mean a journey a group of people take. There must be something different between you and your friends. They must be living a different life than you. Or perhaps it symbolizes you missing out on happy expieriences with your friends because you have been depressed, too buisy, or your lifestyle is different from thiers. The barriers you explained were pretty out of your controll, you are forced into seperation from the others, you try to make it work, but it is never convenient, and sometimes dangerous to yourself, sometimes even a crime (against the law or your personal rules).

Since I started on this out of the ordinary path I have noticed a lot of seperation. I dont drink, do drugs, I think TV and video games are generally bad for you, my interests are totally different from what they used to be, and very different from most everyone I know. We rarely have common ground. But It's not a bad thing. I cant be part of destructive behavior anymore. Besides, I dont beleive in only giving your friends compassion, love and respect, but all humans and animals. But then I dont live in a place where I would get stabbed for being kind to a stranger.