Groovin'

Today’s (totally) optional prompt: Groove? In it or out of it?

A groove is another word for a rut.  I'm not trying to be negative here.  In some cases a groove is good, such as when playing music.  When you're in a musical groove, you forget about the audience, you forget about everything that you've dealt with all day, and you just let yourself flow into the musical notes and let them take you where they will.  It's a beautiful thing, a musical groove.

A groove can also be helpful. When you're lost, sometimes finding the well-worn groove left by previous travelers or animals can lead you back to civilization.   When a person gets out of bed in the middle of the night for a drink of water, it's the groove that helps sleepy feet remember the path to the sink and back.  Routines are very important to our lives, otherwise stuff doesn't get done.  Laundry piles up, the car doesn't get refilled with gas, children are late for school, and the world generally grinds to a halt if schedules and routines and habits aren't followed consistently.

But a groove can also become the same as using cruise control.  You hit that button on the steering wheel and let an inanimate object take over your driving speed, so you don't have to think about how fast you are going.  Let me repeat that part: you don't have to think when you're in a groove.  What could possibly go wrong in this situation?  

Then let's think of all the thoughtlessness in the world.  The meanness. Maybe if people weren't in a groove they'd be more likely to remember their manners, be a little kinder to each other?.

I like to think about what I am doing.  In fact, when I've had accidents, said something mean, or forgotten to do something, it's usually because I wasn't thinking about what I was doing.  I was in a 'groove', a behavior loop, and my brain went offline.  I prefer to have mindfulness, no matter how difficult it can be for an anxiety prone worrywart like me.  Situational awareness is vital.  I need to be able to change gears if there's a reason to do so, and I can't be an effective thinker if I'm in a rut.   There needs to be balance in my life.

Sometimes it's better if I walk next to the groove instead of in the rut.


This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
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