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My friend Ellen always carried a book on public transportation so she wouldn’t be alone with her thoughts. People vary. I tend to find my thoughts pleasant companions.
Ruminate is what a cow does when she chews her cud. Webster’s says it also means to think carefully and deeply about something. Sounds good, no? But online article after article discusses the dangers of rumination and how to quit. Psychologists appear to use rumination for obsessive, repetitive rehashing of the sources of discontent. It’s not just a difference in definition. I’ve read that a mind is a dangerous place to dwell, trying to understand your emotions is a mistake, and problem-solving should take over as quickly as possible. The implication: Any thought that isn’t purposeful puts you on a slippery slope toward depression. Whatever happened to reflection, contemplation, imagination, introspection? Meditation in the old-fashioned sense of pondering something, as distinct from emptying the mind? Liberal arts along with employable skills? Please understand, I’m all in favor of mindfulness meditation. I appreciate planning and problem-solving, value the trades, and don’t have much use for obsession. But isn’t it possible the seed of at least one of the world’s great inventions, discoveries, or works of art may have germinated in a mind allowed to run free?
7 Comments
Lisa
7/24/2017 09:07:32 am
Sarah, I think there's a difference between a mind allowed to run free and a mind stuck in a loop. The one stuck in a loop isn't going to change the world with a great invention, discovery or work of art, nor grow, nor come up with creative solutions.
Running free, by all means. But there's a widespread fear that any mind left to run free will get stuck in a loop. Some individuals know themselves well enough to know this will happen for them, in which case it makes sense to carry a book. I take issue with the notion that the only worthwhile thought is purposeful. Loops and straight lines aren't the only possibilities. There are also meanders, which may or may not go anywhere, but certainly won't if they aren't permitted.
Lisa
7/24/2017 10:58:41 am
I don't think a book is going to keep anyone's mind from running wild, if they are prone to looping — the loops are always there, if sometimes only in the background. This is one time when I think you're over-simplifying the issue of mental health vs creativity. All I can say is that my friend Ellen, who like many of us was well but not perfectly adjusted, found that having a book helped keep her mind from going places she preferred it not go. She is no longer alive for me to ask whether her fear was of looping or running wild, or if that was a meaningful distinction to her.
Lisa
7/24/2017 05:04:55 pm
So, it was suggested to me by two well-older than I am social workers/therapists that in a perfect world, we can put our mind where it needs to go, which varies from hour to hour. "Flexibility" was the key word they wanted me to take home. So, obviously they encounter a lot of people who can't be flexible with their mind and don't have tools to practice flexibility. Ellen learned a coping tool, and it worked to keep the loops at bay. In other words, there's a time to let your mind go and ruminate, but other times when it's best to apply it elsewhere. One needs to be able to do both. Control? Perhaps. Flexibility, yes. Amazing how many things come down to flexibility. And what seems like a great idea may depend on which direction we've gotten off balance. Kids (and adults) with too little structure could use more, kids with too much structure could use less. Minds tightly focused could use some rambling, minds forever rambling could use some focus. Even loops may have a place, like when there's something I need to remember for the next five minutes and I don't have a pen to write it down.
Lisa
7/25/2017 08:09:16 am
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AuthorI'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. Archives
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