Mind Games

I dropped the kids at school and drove away toward the office. Halfway down a residential street, the car stalled, blocking traffic. My first impulse—to panic—wasn’t going to help. Mobile phones hadn’t yet spread beyond traveling salesmen and organized crime. I took a deep breath, rang the nearest doorbell, and asked to use the telephone.

My work those days involved sending dentists and doctors to volunteer in refugee camps in Southeast Asia. Waiting in the car for the tow truck, I imagined talking with one of the boat people from South Vietnam. They’d fled their country by sea. They’d survived storms and pirates. In my mind, I tried to explain why it was so terrible that my car wouldn’t start.

Such mind games aren’t denial. They’re more like reframing, with a twist. I could have just told myself it’s going to be all right, the garage will help me, by next week it won’t matter. Instead, my imagined comparison of a stranded driver to a desperate refugee was so ludicrous as to be comic. Once you’ve done all you can and the next step is to wait, laughter is a great antidote to stress.

Image: Photo by J. Balla Photography on Unsplash.