We constantly construct narratives in our heads about our place in the world and how the world functions. Our background, including the languages we speak, forms a foundation of how we interpret reality. Or so-called reality. While it’s good to theorize, and engage in conjecture, better known as guesswork, it’s also vital to keep in mind not to construct entire narratives based on incomplete information. When we do that, we react to our false narratives as though it’s what’s actually going on, while we have likely constructed an illusion in our minds to explain  what’s going on around us. The false narrative, the narrative we’ve convinced ourselves is real, is there to ease our worried minds.

When a bomb goes off somewhere, in another part of the city, and our loved one was there, it’s counterproductive to start theorizing about if he or she is still alive. That theorizing can lead to a cascade of catastrophic thinking,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)