the line between thought and reality
2020-05-31
I don't even want to THINK about it!
Oh, I hate to think of it.
Of course.
Because: we are not afraid of what we think we're afraid of; we are afraid of what we think.
The thing - whatever "it" is - is typically not as horrible as we'd thought. Sometimes, it's not horrible at all.
Whenever "it" comes to pass, if it comes to pass, we usually find our self fully engaged in the moment and simply doing what's to be done.
Perhaps there is a moment of sheer terror. But, it's only a moment, startling us into response. And then we're in action.
When that moment comes up in our imaginations it causes the same physiological response.
But, because there is no actual action to take, that response - instead of coming out as productive action - comes out as mental rumination and agitation.
And, it's not even as if we're imagining our potential response to the situation should it come up in real life. Oh, no. What happens is our imaginations go on and start escalating the threat, magnifying the horribleness. That is, things get even worse. And, they often escape our mind to start showing up in deed - coping mechanisms of all sorts to make it stop.
But, in real life, when we respond to a more actual situation, we actively work - and almost always succeed (except that one time ... ) - to address the situation and move through it. We carry on (with it) instead of carrying on (about it).
So, when the horrible thought comes up, you can truly say, "This is NOT happening to me!" (It's just a thought.)
And, knowing this is the case and remembering it even a little brings lightness and light.
A situation is a situation only because we think it to be.
The line between thought and reality is only where we draw it to be.