woolgathering

  Have you ever heard the term woolgathering? It's an old-fashioned saying my grandmother would use. When I was just a little guy walking about aimlessly or just staring off into space that's what she told me I was doing. My mother would say to me, what are you doing? Grandma Bennett would say, leave him be, he's just woolgathering. It's something I find myself doing ever more frequently these days. I think that is solely because I have the time to do so. Television, social media or a hobby doesn't occupy my time as much as it used to. As a result, I have the time to gather that wool. I read where the term has been around since the 16th century. Originally it is thought that woolgathering was exactly that. Small children were sent out to the fields and forests to gather wool that had been snagged on brushes and thorny plants. Wherever the sheep grazed or roamed wool could be gathered. It took little thought, just wandering about picking it off the bushes. It seemed to others later on that it was a waste of time, busy work as we might say, to keep the children busy. That's when the expression began to talk on new meaning. more like what it means today. Although, I don't think you hear it used very often today.

 I find myself woolgathering often. A great deal of the time I write down the thoughts I find on a notepad next to my computer. That's the source of a good number of blogs. It's obvious at times where the wool was gathered. If it about current events I gathered that from the news or social media. At other times I gather my wool from unfamiliar places, little corners in my mind or memory. When I was little, gathering that wool, I was learning. I believe Grandmother Bennett knew that. It was time spent just thinking, placing things in their proper order. You did learn to pay attention even when you seemed to be in another place altogether. Still, it served a purpose. You do need time to just sit and think. That's something that is missing today, especially with the young people. It's all entertainment, all the time today. Today when the time for woolgathering arrives, we call it being bored. Yes, I said that when I was a kid too. I'm bored, it's boring, there is nothing to do. My thought is that is exactly why those children were sent out to gather wool in the first place. That'll keep them busy, it will also teach patience, observational skills and completing a task. Now I find myself gathering the wool I had collected all those years ago. Sometimes it is called wisdom. 

 You could say wisdom comes from gathering wool. Some folks have a lot more of that than others. But even when you have a great quantity of wool, it isn't very useful unless it is woven together. And that, that has to accomplished by the one that gathered the wool. How closely were they paying attention? That's the observational part in gathering that wool. Learning where to look. Staring at the sky you won't find much wool! Walking in the open field will yield little as well. No, taking the easiest way isn't going to be very productive. Following the crowd leaves little for you to gather. Gathering wool is best done alone with your eyes wide open. You can't be in a hurry! The wool gathered today will be used in the future when you have a sufficient quantity to make something useful. For some that wool becomes wisdom, and for others just a warm blanket in old age. It all depends upon how you use it I suppose. What you weave with it. "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters" (Epicuris) It's not the wool that was gathered but rather, what you do with it. (Ben Reichart)