Imagination

Does your imagination ever get out of control? Mine has always done this. I can remember so many times, as a child, I was nearly terrified by things that were not happening or did not exist. My imagination was over active and quite vivid.

This remained a problem even into my college years. Alhough, seeing HALLOWEEN my freshman year and living in an old dorm with wide hallways dimly lit with antiquated light fixtures hanging on the walls, was not helpful.

I could talk myself into just about anything. And I often did.

Why in the world I was so drawn, and still am, to books written by Stephen King is a mystery to me. I was reading one of his books while my first born daughter was napping and someone knocked on the front door. I jumped up, threw the book across the room and screamed like someone was attacking me. Good grief. How ridiculous.

This was about the time that I decided I had better get my imagination under control. So I did. I conditioned myself to block that out-of-control thinking as soon as I had a mere glimmer that it was going to start up. And it's been working fine. Until it invades my dreams, of course.

However, when I am walking the dog before the sun comes up and it's a cool, windy day (and no, it doesn't have to be near Halloween for this to happen) and the leaves are blowing around---they sound like footsteps no matter what I tell myself. Sometimes, I guess, the situation is just right and there's not a darn thing you can do about it.

I will tell myself that it's just the leaves and that I don't need to turn around and look. And then I'll have the conversation about what if I do turn around and look and something or someone IS there? Then what will I do? I'm too old and overweight to outrun whatever it is. So do I want to be surprised by the attack or watch it come?????

I always turn around. There hasn't been anything or anyone there.

Yet.

Does your imagination get the best of you?

This is Day 9 of the A-Z Challenge!