Often nightmares disturb my sleep. In this example, myself, my husband Glenn, and one other person were driving through San Antonio, TX. So many buildings lined the freeway it was hard to see when we reached the downtown section. Pulling off in search of a motel, we stopped on a dark street and walked into a place which seemed to be a game room. But only skee-ball games were being played. It was odd, uncomfortable, and not the motel so we walked outside. A black man on a bicycle rode up to us, stopped and approached Glenn. He took out a switchblade and clicked it open with a demand for money. Glenn pulled out a large knife, like those men carry in sheathes at their sides, and stabbed the guy in the belly.
Removing the knife, my husband turned and ran away. The other person disappeared. To my horror, the stabbed man staggered toward me, eyes rolling into the back of his head, clutching his stomach, with an expression of pain and disbelief on his face. He fell forward and landed at my feet face down in the grass. In panic, I looked around, seeing Glenn running in the distance. Why was he running? His actions were obviously in self-defense. I turned to chase after him, but the man on the ground moaned. Torn between escaping the scene and staying with what I believed was a dying man-a stranger-a criminal, I stood where I was looking back and forth with my eyes at last locked on the dying man.
I started to kneel beside the prostrate figure and then awoke from the nightmare. Wondering why such images would appear in my dreams, I thought of someone saying it was a test. Images of the man rising to his feet flashed through my mind. Strangely, the formerly injured man was smiling. Glenn returned with the knife unblemished. He told me my humanity and empathy was strong. He was proud that I didn’t run away, fearful of the consequences of the situation. I faced the issue and stood still.
Through this analysis, in reality, I semi-consciously did escape the situation. Justifying this line of thought further, Glenn would never run and leave me alone like that. He wouldn’t stab an attacker, he would shoot him. We wouldn’t put ourselves in that position in the first place. But if I was to be thrust into something like that, I hope my deep sense of right and wrong, as well as my compassion for others will lead me to do the right thing. Truth is, one never really knows what one will do until actually faced with the difficult issue. We just hope our inner selves will govern our outward actions and compel us to do the right thing.
Removing the knife, my husband turned and ran away. The other person disappeared. To my horror, the stabbed man staggered toward me, eyes rolling into the back of his head, clutching his stomach, with an expression of pain and disbelief on his face. He fell forward and landed at my feet face down in the grass. In panic, I looked around, seeing Glenn running in the distance. Why was he running? His actions were obviously in self-defense. I turned to chase after him, but the man on the ground moaned. Torn between escaping the scene and staying with what I believed was a dying man-a stranger-a criminal, I stood where I was looking back and forth with my eyes at last locked on the dying man.
I started to kneel beside the prostrate figure and then awoke from the nightmare. Wondering why such images would appear in my dreams, I thought of someone saying it was a test. Images of the man rising to his feet flashed through my mind. Strangely, the formerly injured man was smiling. Glenn returned with the knife unblemished. He told me my humanity and empathy was strong. He was proud that I didn’t run away, fearful of the consequences of the situation. I faced the issue and stood still.
Through this analysis, in reality, I semi-consciously did escape the situation. Justifying this line of thought further, Glenn would never run and leave me alone like that. He wouldn’t stab an attacker, he would shoot him. We wouldn’t put ourselves in that position in the first place. But if I was to be thrust into something like that, I hope my deep sense of right and wrong, as well as my compassion for others will lead me to do the right thing. Truth is, one never really knows what one will do until actually faced with the difficult issue. We just hope our inner selves will govern our outward actions and compel us to do the right thing.
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