The human psyche and mindset is such a fragile thing. It seems the slightest puff of wind is enough to blow us hopelessly off course. The most minute change to our plans or our routine can throw us for a loop from which we cannot recover no matter how hard we try to will it. Let me share a personal example to see if you can relate.Each evening as I am getting ready to go to sleep, I tend to go through the same sequence of steps. Before I climb into bed, I take off my wristwatch and then my eyeglasses and set them on the bookshelf in my bedroom. The following morning after I get dressed, I then automatically reach first for my glasses and then my watch. However, my normal sequence in this dance was upset the other evening. I had been reading on the couch up until lights out. At some point my eyes got a bit tired, so I took off my glasses and set them on the coffee table. When it was time to retire, I turned off the lights and trudged into my bedroom, where I took off my watch and placed it in its usual location. The next morning when I went to my bookshelf for my glasses, I was frustrated to find they were not where they were supposed to be. I got a bit flustered in the moment until I remembered that I had left them in the living room. With a feeling of relief I went and recovered them. I then grabbed my breakfast and headed out the door to start my day.
I wasn't at work for 10 minutes when I had a strange feeling that something was not as it usually is. It didn't take me long to realize that the incident with tracking down my glasses had caused my brain to miss a step. I had left my watch on my shelf. All day long I carried this ill-at-ease feeling around with me. I felt incomplete. I kept snatching glances at my empty wrist. Try as I might my mind was not able to get back to equilibrium until I got home after work. When I arrived, I didn't even stop to set my briefcase or my thermos down. I marched straight into my bedroom and grabbed my watch.
