When my sister and I were young our family lived in rural Ohio. Next door to us lived a family with a pony that we often visited to talk to, brush and feed. Almost daily we asked our parents for a pony of our own. One day our parents sat us down and asked us a loaded question. Would you rather have a pony or a baby brother?
That was a no-brainer-a pony! But alas, it was too late, my parents were counting on a different answer. Baby brother (good guess on their part) was already in the making.
Our minds are amazing and tricky. They seek to understand. So often when we don't have an answer we fill in the blanks When we can't In that seeking they often create their own meaning.
A conversation with an 8 year-old recently gave me some insight into how early we start this practice. It is already forming in her mind and messing with her feelings. She was sad because a certain person "didn’t like her." I asked her what made her think that. Her answer was because a certain expectation wasn't met.
How often do we do a different version of this?
