Friday, January 14, 2011

The Art of Thoughting


(photo by Tabitha Bird)


When he was little his daddy and I would often catch him like this.

"What are you doing?" we'd ask.
"I'm  thoughting."
"Thoughting?"
"Uh huh. I'm thoughting about all the things I haven't thought about yet."

And we'd leave him to it. Because Thoughting is very important, wouldn't you agree?

The art of drifting off with dandelions and dragonflies, to wander down whatever interesting summer paths your mind finds. To linger softly on the edges of possibilities. Imagining what if, and what might become of, and what isn't, but could be.

For Thoughting is the start of great things. Trees that haven't been climbed. A stream unexplored Books yet to be born. Stories yet to be told. A wish still closed in your heart. A belief in yourself that has yet to be watered.
They all begin with Thoughting.

The mind needs its Thoughting. Its wanting and wishing and dreaming. Such things are the mind's gift to  the soul.
So, go Thought something.
A kernel. A bud. A seed. Thought it long and Thought it hard, and eventually the Thoughting will carry you away. To a place that even little boys know how to find. Dreaming the impossible.

~

What about you? What are you Thoughting today?

25 comments:

  1. I was Thoughting about a blog post. Trying to collect my random thoughts together into something that makes sense.

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  2. So important, and I love this! I was a deep thoughter as a kid, even more so now, and I wish my own kids would give more effort to thoughting.

    Love that pic, too, Tabitha.

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  3. I'm a little addicted to thoughting and mine move so I'm often running after them.

    Thoughting about how I'm going to pull off three b-day parties for my girls in the next two weeks. ;)
    ~ Wendy

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  4. Thoughting. I love that. It's funny how kids can put something into perspective in an unusual way and it stops us cold as we think it over.

    I'm thoughting about what I will find when I reread my book today with all the revisions in place. I hope it all works out. :)

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

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  5. Thoughting :) what a wonderful concept. How do we seem to lose these great things as we grow up? I'm off to do some thoughting, thanks for the reminder :D
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  6. What a great little fellow he was (and probably still is). I'm going to be thoughting about him for awhile.

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  7. I love the idea of toughting. I think I need to go do some of it!

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  8. Umm I have been thoughting on 'Nothing'. Have you tried that, think of 'nothing', so that nothing may concern you and nothing may disturb you.
    Have you?

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  9. Love it. And LOVE a certain book I've been reading these past two days. :)

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  10. wonderful Tabitha, wonderful thoughting son. I used to thought I could thought better when I placed the top of my head against my dad's belly. He was very kind about it, I must say.

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  11. I'm thoughting how glad I am to read posts like this.

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  12. I'm thoughting about women's attitudes to weight and woman's obsession with body image.

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  13. How one minute we feel whole; then, something changes and we are broken.

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  14. What an awesome picture and concept about "thoughting". Something I'm going to do more often.

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  15. What a picture! My first thought was worry for him but when you wove your story, I applaud him for taking those moments to Thought:))

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  16. Sweet little man, there! I'm thoughting about why my boys don't seem to thought before they do some inane act that has me yelling, "Good Lord, knock it off you'll get a concussion!"

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  17. ah haa I love the idea of thoughting...
    now if you make thoughting a word ... can I make staringly a word?

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  18. Absolutely. Sounds like something Winnie The Pooh would say. "Thoughting is very important." After all, he had a thoughful spot! There is no time in todays technical world for imaginative play....what with video games and the like. Damn, I really do agree with Pooh!

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  19. Beautiful picture and piece Tabitha! Thoughting was something I did a lot as a child myself - still do really. Most recent thoughting...how to focus my thoughts. :)

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  20. The best thoughting is without goal, I think--the kind you do as a kid, letting go of everything but possibility. Love your post. It reminds me of what's important.

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  21. DRopping by to let you know how much I enjoyed, absorbed and related to in your poem "I am From" in Rose and Thorn.

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  22. I like that word "thoughting." Gonna use it more often. Blessings.

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  23. "I'm thoughting about all the things I haven't thought about yet". How sweet is that.
    As a worrier,and planner, I think about every possibility and then some. Half the things I 'thoughted about' never happen.But his world, I know and remember, childhhood dreaming and musing, childhood philosophy and meandering along pathways of awareness,"to wander down what interesting summer paths your mind finds" enjoying where it takes you. Long may it last.
    Such a precious time.

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  24. What a wonderful new word and another beautiful post.

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  25. I've been doing a lot of this- especially in the wee hours of the morning:)

    A beautiful post Tabitha, it makes me think!

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