Thursday, January 13, 2011

Mistaken Monster


I have vivid dreams these days, thanks to anti-anxiety medicine. Last night was a typically wild affair. I won't bore you with the details (there's nothing so pointless as trying to explain a dream to another person), but at one point, there was a monster who I was trying and failing not to disturb. His bed somehow got tipped over, he fell down, and I was convinced that he was about to kill me. So I ran. I ran in one direction and then another and kept looking back to see if he was behind me. I never saw him again.

In the dream, I assumed that I had lost him. But maybe there's another solution. Maybe the monster wasn't after me at all. Maybe I assumed that he was going to kill me, and maybe he was just going to find another bed.

The monster might not be trying to kill me. All scary things are not necessarily out to get me. I'm going to use that as my message for the day.

I've had some difficult interactions with co-workers today, so I'm going to use this to reframe the way I work with them. They're not necessarily trying to kill me - maybe I don't need to run and hide from them. Maybe I'll do better if I don't assume they're trying to murder me.

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