Background information: Early retirement package from company.

I've had several dreams where I am on rooftops trying to get somewhere, but I don't know where. One time I'm stranded in a demolished area on an upright steel beam and can't get down. One time I'm stranded at the very top of a tree with a saw but can't get down. I'm just standing there.

If I dream of the town I worked in, the town is either wrecked or has a demolished area. In reality I feel I'm lost, and can't gain good employment other than the large company I worked for. Please send me your thoughts.

—Tim, Age 59, Single, PA, USA

Hi Tim—

Now that you've received your early retirement package, do you sometimes feel like the ground has been swept out from under you?

Dreams of being located high above the Earth often represent concerns about our careers. If we've over-extended ourselves financially, we may dream that we are "hanging on" to the side of a tall building or mountain. If we've taken a risk or "stepped out on a limb," we may find, like you, that we are "up a tree" -- uncertain of our ability to return safely to ground.

Your early retirement package has left you feeling stranded on the ladder of success. The career you've worked hard to build, and whose stairs you faithfully have climbed, has vanished beneath you. Without a viable job position to move into at a neighboring company (a jump to an equally elevated "rooftop"), you feel stuck, and fear a fall for the worse.

The devastation in your dream shows that a phase in your career has come to an end. Veteran players like yourself, however, know that every ending, truly, is a new beginning. The game may have changed, but the saw in your hand (while you're up a tree) shows clearly that you are prepared to tackle the next challenge. We have every confidence that you soon will be busy again, building a new bridge to your future!