Waking up in the dark

I remember when I was a child, waking up in the pitch dark late at night and climbing out of bed to make my way to the bathroom. I thought I was in my own house, but I was confused and was actually at my grandmother's. I remember my utter confusion when I couldn't find the light switch in the usual place. I remember my surprise when I banged my shin against a chair that didn't exist in my mental picture of reality.

As an adult (more or less), I now experience this same surprise and confusion when life doesn't work the way I think it should; when people behave in ways that I never even thought possible. My mental picture of reality is off, and I realize I'm stumbling around in the dark. I need to pay attention when these surprises occur and realize that life and reality are what they are; that my surprise results from a false mental image of the way things are.