Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Blogs for Happiness #2: Reflecting upon Ruminations


I was looking on the Internet for some information to help me sleep better when I came across an article about Rumination. I thought this was something to do with cows (as did my boss when I told him about it the next day).
It turns out chewing the cud is exactly what I’ve been doing sometimes for two to three hours a night when all I crave is the blissful unconsciousness of a good night’s sleep.
Rumination can be positive or negative. If we reflect upon a problem then we can usually solve it, but if we brood and obsess, reliving the same thoughts over and over with no solution in sight, it can impact very badly on our health. And this is not just because of lack of sleep. More on that another time...
Once I knew that was what I was doing, it was then easy to label those thoughts as they arose and then let them drift away. I have felt much better since!
Reflecting further upon these Ruminations, I have found a theme. I tend to ruminate about people who I feel have hurt me in some way. There is just a handful, but they had been dominating my thoughts.
When wanting to share this knowledge, I discovered it was with my girlfriends who make me feel good about myself and about whom I have never ruminated. It has been suggested that there is little growth in these relationships, only in those that cause me pain. Well, I like a bit of growth as you know, but goodness, I love to be with my girlfriends who bring me joy and peace and a well deserved break from ‘growing pains’.
Does this strike a chord with you? Do you have ‘growing pains’? Let me know…
To read more about Rumination follow this link to the website I have been reading: About.com/Rumination

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