Boy Meets Girl (July 9th)

    They say that the human brain processes over 50,000 thoughts per day. Most of these thoughts are repetitive – putting toothpaste on our toothbrush, remembering where we parked the car, selecting our favourite brand of cereal at the supermarket - and as soon as we have these thoughts, they are immediately dismissed and forgotten. We don't analyse or obsess over our every little thought – if we did, we'd go insane!
    Can you imagine, walking into the bathroom every morning, preparing to brush our teeth and thinking, "Damn, I have to brush my teeth, again! How many times have I brushed my teeth in a lifetime? At last count, I was up to 64,532! And if I live until I'm 90 that means I'll have brushed my teeth 543,201 times over the course of my life! I seriously don't have time for this…"
    No, for the sake of our mental health, we just brush our teeth and forget about it. And yet, how often do we offer our thoughts to things that make us unhappy? Whether they are thoughts about our weight, money or love, they are still just thoughts. And instead of dismissing them as soon as they enter our mind, we let our brain chew over these thoughts, in the same way that cows chew their cud. (Just in case you have no idea what I'm talking about, cows chew their food, swallow, and then regurgitate it, to chew on again.) And it's not as if we're problem solving – we're just mulling.
    Maybe I'm just talking about myself here, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not.
    Tell me what you think.

Zara Stevens
BOY MEETS GIRL

Comments: 11

Ginny H. Jul 9, 2008, 11:01am EDT

It's very true but I'm happy for it. I'd hate to be thinking about every little thing carefully, it would be a waste of time then just doing things.

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Bonnie F. Jul 9, 2008, 11:20am EDT

Things that make me very happy or very sad seem to run through my mind on instant replay for days. That's o.k. for the happy things, but it is not good for my mood to go over the bad or sad things. I think you have it exactly right, Zara.

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Chana M. Jul 9, 2008, 1:43pm EDT

Zara, I knew the thng about the cow, but still, yuck! You made your point though! My mind is a whirling dervish, sometimes I have to think about simple, mundane, everyday things like brushing teeth etc. I don't know if this answers your question, but I think of myself as a pessimistic optimist. I try to see the sunny side of every situation (or as close as you can get), but I try to stay cognizant that sadness and bad things can happen so if they do I won't fall to far. Ok, lol, I know some of you will shake your head's and go WT?, but it works for me. Thank you for sharing this with the Gather Non-Deleters Group Zara!

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Patricia J. Jul 9, 2008, 2:04pm EDT

Zara, you're right about mulling over things. If they are happy I try to keep them in mind for a long while but if they are sad or bad I try to forget about them as quickly as possible. Which, of course, is impossible.

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