Wednesday, September 16, 2026
My mind ends up in the gutter. When my mind tells me a scary ending, I do my best to intervene with a happy, counter beginning. This is hard during times which seem to be deteriorating, and you seem without option. When the imagination is the only thing left, opt away.
One time, I was on a crowded flight on a budget airline – stuck in the back of an Airbus, in the middle between two blubbery men who were oozing into my personal space. The flight was chockablock. I was sandwiched for three hours. I was living a “coffin-closing” nightmare, and the only thing left was imaginary. So I opted to go “home,” right there, amidst two fatties like the soft center of an Oreo.
I closed my eyes and felt my bed, and my fresh linens. I sunk into my mattress and awakened for a delicious breakfast the next morning. I continued to dream happy places, happy scenes. When we landed, I was fine. I couldn’t get home during that flight, so I opted to be home.
If you need an out-of-circumstance experience, you don’t necessarily need anything physical. You can counter-dream – go to the beach, win the lottery, meet a friend for coffee, find money on the street, get a neat opportunity. The mind loves the gutter – which is the same sob story of economy class. But the imagination opts for first-class.
Sometimes, when you’re sandwiched in a cookie, you’ll have to transport yourself to first class – space, or home. Get out of the gutter by bringing creamy freedom. The imagination can work wonders if you counter the same old “gutter ending” or even find yourself in the real gutter.
Become rest itself, and the space expands into the first-class cabin, even if two human beanbags crowd the armrests into a total eclipse.