SETTING

Nighttime, A bed

 

CHARACTERS

Control and Adapt

Control:  I gotta go down there and tell him to be quiet. His talking is keeping me up.  AGAIN!

I gotta sleep.

 

Adapt: How many times are you going to do this?  Aren’t you tired of trying to make everything a certain way so that you’re comfortable and feel safe?

 

Control:  Oh come on now, that’s not fair.

 

Adapt:  Look, it’s not his fault the walls are thin.  He’s not talking that loud and he has a right to talk in his bedroom at a normal volume, right?

 

Control: Yes, yes, yes!  I know but I have to sleep.  How else am I going to sleep if he doesn’t stop talking? It’s late for me and I have to get up early.

 

Adapt:  Well, what can you do to adjust to the noise so that you can maybe fall asleep?  Don’t you think telling yourself that you can’t sleep if he’s talking just tells your brain you won’t be able to sleep and then you can’t sleep???

 

Control:  Why are you making this so hard.  With all the time we’ve been talking I could have gone down there and made him stop talking.

 

Adapt: I’m trying to show you a better way to take care of yourself.  You won’t always be able to make something change, stop or step up for you.

 

Control:  So where were you for the last 40 years?  Why didn’t you speak up sooner?

 

Adapt: You weren’t ready to hear me.

 

Control: Hmmm.

 

Adapt: So can we go to sleep now?  I’m kinda tired. How about you listen to one of your guided meditations?  They usually soothe you to sleep, right? Right? Hey, answer me will ya?

 

Control is fast asleep, snoring.