Chewing Your Cud

Cheryl Gowin and Dennis Gowin.  Call us at our counseling practice with your feedback, comments, issues, or questions at 434-808-2637.

Have you ever been out in a field and watched a cow ruminate?  We call it chewing its cud.  Do you know what that means?  Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant’s stomach to the mouth to be chewed for the second time.  Not a very pleasant picture!

There is a second meaning for rumination; the act of thinking about something in a sustained fashion, deep, or considered thought about a philosophical issue or an issue in life.  This does not sound bad but how often do you ruminate with negative thoughts or in a negative way?

Do you worry about aspects of your life by going over and over what could go wrong?  Every time you look in the mirror do you go over everything you don’t like about your appearance?  When thinking about something that has happened do you go through every “why” that you can think about over and over again.  When planning an activity, do you think about all the reasons it won’t work until you can’t move forward?

We all can find ourselves ruminating on issues at times; it’s when our rumination keeps us from moving forward that it becomes a problem.  Joyce Meyer puts it this way:  “Battles are fought in our minds every day. When we begin to feel the battle is just too difficult and want to give up, we must choose to resist negative thoughts and be determined to rise above our problems.  We must decide that we’re not going to quit. When we’re bombarded with doubts and fears, we must take a stand and say: “I’ll never give up! God’s on my side. He loves me, and He’s helping me! I’m going to make it!”

What is your first step? Start by following C.S. Lewis’s observation: “What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.”  Have you heard the phrase “denial is not a river in Egypt?”  Begin by taking notice of what you are saying to yourself.  Are you using phrases that include I can’t, it won’t work, it always happens this way, it will never be different, why does it always happen to me, I can’t stand it, or I can’t change it?  Realizing when you are negatively ruminating is the first step in improving your thought patterns.

Now, move forward by writing a different narrative.  I can’t do this because it scares me becomes  I can do this because I asked how.  I can’t change is reworded to I am going to do this differently this time by changing my actions patterns.  I never succeed is rephrased to I am going to succeed this time by not doing it the same way.  Your misassumptions and negative views will pop out at you when you start pulling your thoughts apart.

Helpful sayings are a great way of rebuilding your personal storylines.  “Failure is just another way to learn how to do something right.”  Marian Wright Edelman said,  “One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.”  Henry Ford stated,  “When nothing goes right…go left!”

The Bible is also a treasure trove of uplifting narratives.  “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:3)  “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)  “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10)  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Now give yourself the gift of grace as you work to change your thought patterns.  To quote Babe Ruth, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” 

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  (Romans 5:3-5)

Cheryl Gowin and Dennis Gowin.  Call us with your feedback, comments, issues, or questions; our phone number is 434-808-2637.