The Use of the Imagination When Coping with NOISE

 

Yesterday I was doing my daily mindfulness meditation.
It's a liberating place of quiet, insight, healing, and rebooting my focus.

A loud garbage truck entered the neighborhood roaring its loud garbage truck noises
and shattering the soothing ambiance.
The mindfulness experts would tell you it was providing me
good practice for equanimity - "Just make the truck noise part of the meditation,
be with the feeling it brings up in you with compassion and curiosity."

I am not at that stage of enlightenment or even willingness.
Despite my love for mindfulness meditation,
I still break the rules occasionally. 

This was a case for my imagination.

I didn't focus on cultivating creativity my entire life to let it
sit dormant when my peace is shattered
and there's no decent action I can take to deal with it.

 Curiosity stokes the fire of my creativity, so I asked myself,
  "What could that intrusive truck noise be that would lend me more peace?"
(These are three of the tools I teach in my coaching training:
Asking a question, reframing the situation to shift my mood, and free association.)

"It could be the roar of an elephant,' my muse answered.
So I imagined the garbage truck noise as an elephant roaring in the face of
a  politician with whom I possess absolutely zero fondness,
addressing yet another irritant that has stolen my peace lately.

The result was a different kind of peace and a wily smile,
both good for my health and enhanced enjoyment of the moment.
Easier for me in my stage of remedial enlightenment and why
not go for a little "easy."

“Imagination is the only weapon
in the war against reality.”
― Lewis Carroll

Well, maybe not the ONLY one: 
Mindfulness, thoughtful action, love,
communing with nature,
and good friends are others, 
but imagination is the most fun,
 extremely convenient,
and sometimes, a
white rabbit with a timepiece.

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My feelings will be hurt for only 3.2 seconds,
then I'll imagine being presented with a bouquet from an elephant.