Sunday, February 3, 2013


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.

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  1. I like your literal interpretation of the word groove. I didn't think about it this way. I love how you end your post. I, too, would rather stay IN the groove by forging my own path OUT of the groove path. Have a great SOC Sunday!

  2. Interesting! I don't think of being in a groove that way at all. To me, being in a groove means that you were once in a rut and now you're in a groove that's working for you. I'm going to think about your post. Thanks!

  3. That was a great twist. Looking at the groove as a rut. I guess I think of ruts as bumpy and grooves as smooth. I definitely agree that when we are in a groove there is no reason to grow or stretch ourselves. When things are comfortable we want to stay comfy.

  4. "Sometimes it's better if I walk next to the groove instead of in the rut." I really like that one. I think you have a point. It's good to be able to see the groove and have a routine, but at the same time, good that you can not get stuck in it. It lets you explore yet return to a safe familiar place.

  5. Really good point. Autopilot may make life easier but it's not always a good thing. Living mindfully is so important. I wonder about how many moments we miss when we're just puttering along in a grove, not noticing what we're passing buy. I, too, like your line about walking "next to the groove instead of in the rut."

    1. Mindfulness is something that always challenges me!

  6. The last line is brilliant. :) So much of my life is routine, and yet that is when I get the most complacent... what could possibly go wrong right? Sometimes it's good to be out of the box, or rut, in this case.

