Are You a Ruminant?

Ruminate

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.

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Animals that ruminate are called, not surprisingly, ruminants.  They include cows, sheep, deer, camels, llamas, and more. To ruminate, for these animals, is to chew the wad of grass, swallow it, bring it back up, chew it some more, swallow it again, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.  At some point, there is simply nothing more to be gained from chewing that same cud over and over again.

Fascinating, right?

People, too, often ruminate.  It’s not a cud that we chew. Instead it is thoughts that we bring up over and over again, running them through our minds endlessly, long after we’ve squeezed every bit of good from that thought.

Ruminating isn’t good for people. It causes anxiety, doubt, and depression.  I can’t begin to tell you how many people come to my office because they are exhausted from endless rumination. Usually, they’re  trying to think up a “fix” for something that they simply can’t fix.  Often, it’s not their job to fix it.  However, they can’t leave it alone, and they hope that some idea will magically pop into their heads that will save the day.  Rarely does that happen.

Frequently, parents are guilty of rumination over their children. The mental rumination becomes verbal, and the kids tune out. They’re not hearing a word. It’s far better to say it once, set boundaries and consequences the parents are willing and able to carry out, and then just shut up.  It doesn’t take a child long to figure out they’d better pay attention the first time.

So how do you know if you’re mentally and verbally ruminating?  Here are some clues. If you catch yourself saying things like this, you’re probably ruminating:

“How many times do I have to TELL you. . . .”

“Okay, if I have to say it one more time. . . .”

“I’m going to count to three. . . “

“I’m so tired of hearing my own voice. . . .”

I was at the grocery store the other day, and I heard a mom count to three about ten times. The only way that little ritual works is when the parent is able and willing to follow through on the promised consequence. If you keep saying “One more time”  you’ve lost the battle and the war.

Rumination leads to depression. No one can run the same negative tape all day long every single day without falling into some degree of depression.  Learn to stop the ruminant thought and replace it with something better. For me, scripture is the cure. Or a hymn that I love. Or a conversation with a positive, uplifting friend.

   Ruminating, for us, is more harmful than it is helpful. Stop it.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/ruminate/

What Makes You Tremble

One-word prompt for today:  Tremble

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Now, here’s an interesting word!  So many different things can cause a person to tremble. To shiver, shake, have tremors,  even lose control of one’s muscles; sometimes the breathing is affected, the heart races, the palms become cold and clammy.

What makes us tremble?  Fear.  Excitement. A first-ever date. Nerves–performing, speaking, singing  for an audience.  Stress can make us tremble. I’ve seen students who are facing a test they’re worried about whose hands are trembling with nerves.

Trembling in fear is not a pleasant experience.  I don’t have many experiences of actually being so afraid that   I tremble.  I guess I’ve led a pretty protected life.  Some of my fellow counselors have mentioned clients who make them very nervous. I’ve never felt like that. I don’t tend to be afraid of people. It is more likely that I need to curb my irritation and my quick tongue when I have someone in my office who is trying to dominate the situation.

Having nervous trembles when I have to do something in front of people, and I don’t feel capable or prepared–that is something I understand.  Speaking to a crowd is easy for me, and I find it enjoyable and exhilarating. But it took me years to come to a place of singing or playing the piano without a shaky voice and shaky hands. I can do it now, and I remain calm. At some point along my lifeline, I just quit worrying about what anyone else may think.

Snakes can give me the shivers.  So can being up high, with no barrier between me and the long drop to the ground.  I hate that.

I know that evil exists in our world, and that there are people who commit evil acts with no concern for anyone else. I haven’t had to face that kind of evil on a personal level.  I read about it:  Nazi Germany, Aleppo, the killing fields of Cambodia, the political massacres in any number of places across the course of human history. Maybe that kind of evil will come to America.  No reason it shouldn’t.

I fear much more for my children and grandchildren than I do for myself.  The sand in my hourglass is much heavier on the bottom than it is on the top. I do, however, wonder what kind of world my precious grandchildren are going to inherit. Thinking on that too much can make me tremble for their future. The degree of lawlessness in our country is astonishing; it is especially frightening when the police have been told to stand down, to not interfere. I don’t understand that at all.

Isn’t it amazing how one little word can take us from the simple to the complicated?

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/tremble