The passage of time, or a series of events, can represent time passing or a series of events in real life. For example, consider a dream where a swarm of bees were chasing you, then you were suddenly talking with your mother, and then you were walking precariously on a rooftop. This could represent three separate events in your real life that happened in that same sequence, but not necessarily one right after the other (they could be days or months apart). In this case, you might look for a recent time when you were feeling overwhelmed (represented by the bees), then later you talked with your mother (represented by your mother), then you were taking a risk of some kind (represented by the rooftop).