It Really IS a Very Useful Practice.

Recently there's been a bit of stuff I'd written & corresponded on re: disruption and setbacks.  

Well I've had a doozy recently; while not nearly as bad as some folks' disruptions, it has been disrupting.

In the course of returning home one night recently, while crossing an intersection, a car went through a red light...

Short story is: I'm OK,  they're OK, my car's totalled, theirs probably is not.  A few thousand dollars is lost.

It's disrupting.  A fraction of a second later and there would have been a much worse outcome.  The brain goes into Alternate Scenarios and What Ifs.

I had never thought about it, but evidently at least short term PTSD is a side effect of being an an auto accident, even if there's no physical injury.

Luckily after sitting for a few years it's possible to understand that the mind is letting thoughts wax and wane, or as Danny said in The Shining, "Remember what Mr. Hallorann said. It's just like pictures in a book, Danny. It isn't real."

Sometimes I realize I'd be completely bonkers if not for this practice.