we have a roommate, let’s call him harry. sometimes early in the morning, harry gets a bit mixed up. he uses my toothpaste and then puts it in his drawer. the other day we were all in the kitchen, and then i went to the bathroom, which is right beside the kitchen, to brush my teeth. i couldn’t find the toothpaste, so i opened harry’s drawer, and there it was. now here’s the funny thing: all the while i was brushing my teeth i was thinking, “oh god, did he hear that i opened his drawer?” “does he think i open his drawer all the time and rummage around in it?” “this is so embarrassing!” “he probably thinks i’m the most nosey, impolite person on the planet!” etc., etc.
fortunately, i could see my silliness and told harry about it and we had a good laugh.
but – wow! what a crazy thing our minds are. did i really think he had nothing better to do but to listen to what i was doing in the bathroom? that he could hear when i open his drawer instead of mine? that instead of placidly brewing a cup of tea, he was all busy suspecting me of wrongdoings?
i think it’s important to watch out for such strange goings-on in our heads. it’s harmless when it’s about your roommate’s toothpaste but you can see how, unnoticed, these thoughts can grow to dangerous proportions.
do you ever catch yourself being irrational like this?