A few days ago, I awakened at 4:30 AM, and decided to meditate. During the meditation, I received a powerful urge to write about a particular topic that has been dear to me since I was a young man. Hopeful  that the project would be meaningful for others, I went back to sleep with a sense of renewed direction.

I become lucid pretty quickly after falling asleep. I begin to search for a place to meditate. I am in a very active setting, people are everywhere, and I don't feel that I can meditate comfortably with all of the activity around me. Finally, I see a group of women working on a project, and I ask them where I might go to have a bit of quiet time. They point to a playroom that's nearby. So I go into the playroom, and it is full of toys. There is hardly an uncluttered spot, so I sweep some toys aside on the floor, and lie down on the carpet, and start to meditate, hoping that the light will come. I feel the energy start to rise in my dream body and I expect the light to come, but suddenly I find myself walking with Julie toward my old mentor Chas, who is dead. I hear him say, "You like dark wood, don't you?" I said, "I like all wood." Then, as I reach where he stands, he steps aside to reveal a beautiful wooden chest that's on the floor with its lid open. It is about the size of a suitcase. It is empty, and it's made of a wood that had the color and hue of old gold--kind of pink and gold at the same time. He is obviously happy with the gift that he had made me, and I am moved by it. I embrace Chas, happy to see him again. I start crying, and then I wake up, crying in bed, feeling grateful to have seen him. 

Now I'm wondering, What (metaphorically) should I put in the wooden chest? It was like a British campaign desk--the kind meant to be carried on journeys and used for writing.

If it were your dream, what would go in your travel chest?