I once heard a story that demonstrates how a story made up in one’s mind could trap oneself in a negative emotional state for years. Rachel walked her dog every morning in her favorite park. That morning was the last time before she moved to another house to a different city. In the distance a lady was walking towards her. She had seen this lady many times and always said hello but was not greeted in return. “Was she just rude? Did she think that I looked weird?” Rachel decided in her mind that the lady was arrogant and looked down on her. This triggered Rachel’s anger and feelings of injustice whenever she saw the lady over the years. Determined to get a response this very last time before she moved, Rachel said in a very loud voice “Hello!”. To her surprise, the lady turned and smiled. Rachel told the lady that she has been saying hello to her for years and that was the first time she greeted her back. In an apologetic voice the lady said, “ Oh sorry my dear I have poor eyesight and am nearly deaf, how terribly rude of me.” That three seconds of conversation has demolished the story that was held in Rachel’s mind for years. “What if I had held back my judgement? Or imagined other reasons why she did not speak to me?” Gone was Rachel’s anger and feelings of injustice, but compassion for another fellow human being. This is the power of the stories that you told yourselves. How many times we believe our imaginations were right?