‘Well this happened’ is a pretty common phrase, and it's ok to say.
We all learn how to edit out mistakes that our brain previously thought was okay as we gain more
education and experience. Our societies have certain standards that help maintain
order, such as language spelling and grammar rules. We learn to speak our national
language according to the standards that will produce the greatest ease of
communication. However, as children and babies, the majority of us were probably
allowed to say words with ‘baby sounds’ or our own baby words for various
things like bottle, mother, father, food or pets. Lots of parents help their
children edit out baby words before heading to elementary school. We expand our
vocabulary and understanding of grammar in order to be better more mature
communicators. Our brain edits out the habit of saying, “me want numnums” to “May
I please have a snack.” Why? I think it’s because after a certain age, one form of communication produces the desired
result much more rapidly. (I think its because of the use of the magic word).
Some of us would rather not have communication norms and
spelling and grammar rules. But, it would be really hard to understand other
people. So, what am I trying to say? Every once in a while an adult has published
a post, article or blog with a few small grammatical mistakes, or even left out
an entire thought that caused a book to be revised only a year later. This
stuff happens. It could be because word did or didn’t automatically change
something. I tend to think that it is our brain being quirky and reminding us
that we were once children. The learning process was, and is amazing. At the
same time, our brains might need to edit out more childish thinking.
I think of spoonerisms or accidental ‘tongue twisters’ more
like a quirk, a twitch, or a need for editing. It’s probably not so far out
there that a spoonerism would interrupt our lives and be a major concern. It
could be weird if someone hears the speaker switch sounds for the first time
and it is considered ‘no laughing matter.’ Someone might throw out that is a
sign of impending doom. I think that you are not necessarily on your way to a nervous
breakdown because you said “spork and foon”. If someone said that to me, then I
would have to say, ‘So that happened.’ or “I’m sorry that’s not what I intended to come
out of my mouth.” I usually laugh or argue that is not what I wanted to say!….
If it happens to you, learn your stuff! Know your stuff! And
also admit when you aren’t sure and need to learn more about your stuff. Do some
research about your quirk. My dad told me that a college professor was famous
for switching the starting sounds of words around in a phrase, so that little
quirk was given his name. That brain quirk became a ‘spoonerism’. Talk about
celebrating his brain quirk! This is like fifth hand information. I don’t remember
if I properly researched it. I was around twelve or thirteen the first time I
was emphatically explaining something and it poured over my teeth incorrectly.
I argued that that is not what I said. Dad helped me through it. Was there a
college professor named Spooner? I think so. I believed him, and it calmed me
from thinking my quirk was singular and a sign of doom.
I mean seriously, does your leg twitch? Your nose tickle, or
your eye blink rapidly? There could be some much deeper explanations for these
things. But, if it is not interfering with normal routine or your life in
general, it is probably something to look into in your spare time for curiosity
sake and to learn something new about yourself.
If a little quirk becomes intrusive in life then it is
probably time to celebrate it enough to let your friends know: “Hey, sometimes
I get super excited when I’m talking and this happens…..” When friends are
aware of your little quirk it might become more clear if that is actually
something that is intrusive, or was only a little bit embarrassing but not
really a big deal. Celebrating a quirky brain, a little tick, or a bouncy knee
might just ease the situation. It also give our friends and family permission
to say something like, “I’ve never heard you stutter before, is that normal and
I never noticed it?”
We might be able to identify real ‘red flags’ or warnings of
too much mental stress, an oncoming migraine headache, or an indicator that our
‘mental wellbeing’ might be on the downslope.
I love to celebrate my little quirks called “spoonerisms”,
but if I stutter I want to be told so I can figure out why I would do something
I’ve never done before. A quirk could become a source of immeasurable concern
if someone makes a big negative deal out of it. If we celebrate the way our
brain works with it’s quirks and all, we might not be caught off guard by a
little brain quirk mistaken for a red flag or vice versa. We could be spared from
having an actual breakdown.
My point is, talk about how you understand what’s going on in your mind with friends and family. We all process things in an
individual way, pretty similarly, but we have different foundations, languages,
analogies, and belief systems. It is important to know and identify more about
how we understand our own thought processes in order to weird, I mean weed out
quirks and warnings or ‘red flags’.
I do believe it is better to be safe than sorry, so as a
mommy, I would suggest celebrating and looking into your brain quirks and learning more
about them. Don't be afraid of what you find. Take care of you, Love you!
That’s enough thinking for now. Well, its not a very missionary-ish blog. Its from my experience of missionary living though. Anyway, I’m not editing this again
tonight….take my word for it. Missionaries need to research things like what culture shock and compassion fatigue does to thought processing and emotions. We can get really quirky.....it's probably still ok for most of us....At least my friends and family can laugh with me.
Here's to JOY and Lots of love!
Missionary Momma Mia
No comments:
Post a Comment