LATE

If someone or something was responsible for making you late, try to identify who or what it was. Dreams in which you are anxiously checking your watch but still miss the bus may also be warning you that you are both mentally and physically exhausted; this is especially true if you were too tired to summon up the extra energy needed to get to where you needed to be.

If you have such a dream, ask yourself whether you feel frustrated about missing an opportunity in your life and try to identify what that opportunity was. Dreams in which you miss a bus, boat or any other travel connection may also suggest that you feel others are moving ahead of you and leaving you lagging behind. Dreams of running after a departing train are very common. According to Freud, trains are classic phallic symbols, suggesting a sexual cause behind frustration expressed in the dream.

See also TIME.

Conscientiousness, or fear of punishment.

Neglecting a responsibility.

Fearing or wanting to avoid the thing you’re late for.

Fear of failure.

Passive-aggression toward an authority figure.

Feeling disorganized, or feeling overwhelmed by your schedule.

Feeling bad about being late can represent a feeling or fear of letting someone down, missing something, or “messing up.” A late time frame (such as late in the day) can represent a point that’s late in a real-life process, or the time frame of a real-life event.

See Missing an Event, Schedule, Last Minute, Time Frame