Words and action - the stories we tell ourselves

I tell myself it's too cold to get up. I stay in bed. I tell myself I love cold, crisp mornings. I get up. It might not be that simple. In between the "too cold to get up story" and staying in bed inaction I feel the warmth of the cocoon I have created under the blankets, the promise of heat emanating from my partner's body like the faint light from a distant star - actually I think the heat goes more in the other direction,  the cold rush of air on my knee when he rolls over and takes the doona with him. Then I tell myself the other story about loving cold, crisp mornings, hot cup of coffee, nature calling, appointments etc. I guess my pictures have lots of labels on them. I don't think it's the same for everyone.

I think of the little one whose autism either closes off speech or produces a bit of a word salad. I wonder if image and the music of the everyday sounds abound in his mind. Synaesthesia too - that phenomenon where sounds have colour or taste, where images feel like something tangible. What are his stories and how do they influence his decision-making?

Perhaps we all have a kind of synaesthesia. It's just that the 'wiring' in a typical brain that links to our words also links to sounds, tastes, colours, images, action sequences.

But I also think about the way our stories can cause us to treat others well. Or badly. We create them, and then we believe them, and then we act on them. They can cause healing, or harm. They can influence others in their beliefs. We need to ask ourselves, to what end? And we need to follow that end through to its natural conclusion.

Anyway that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!