My mom spends more than half of her life worrying. The thought of something terrible happening masks her sense of what is real. If she sees a man passing by the house, then she immediately starts to create bad scenarios, "What if he comes back to break into the house?" "What if he breaks into a neighbor's house?" The reality is that they have lived in the same house for over 30 years and have only been robbed twice. My mother's imagination, or paranoia, is creating an adversary for her day.
The conflict within her daily life reminds me of something I read in Seneca's Letters. He is explaining to Lucilius that you cannot be worried or conflicted over things that have not happened yet. I believe Lucilius had been fuming over a friend going out to campaign. The fact of the matter is we cannot decide what is going to happen to whom. We are all guilty of this practice. Just the other day I was worried about my dog. I was thinking of things like if she pooped in my room or not, and if she was irritating my dad to the point of him snapping at her. Later on when I got home everything was fine. I am sure this happens to everyone all the time.
Our imagination can ultimately get in the way of our daily focus and steer us in the wrong direction. We must remember that we do not have control over events outside of us. If my dog were to defecate in the room, then I would just have to clean it up. Simple. It is easier said than done for us to find clarity in unreasonable daydreams. We can at least practice mindfulness during our busy lives to become aware of these inevitable dark clouds that form in our minds.