Mindless Chatter

 I've taken to naming the dogs on Dog Beach. On New Year's day, dog naming was a split second affair: Curly, Mo, Pongo, McQueen, Bullet, Chase, Dublin, Dubai, Chainmail, Surly, Bubbles, Boo. Chanel for the one French poodle, Remote for the pug, Gamer for the rough looking mixed breed; Playdoh, Sammy, Toots. The parade of playful companions was nonstop as were the name inventions.

On this morning, I can be more contemplative with name christianing. There is time to hyphenate and give formal names that turn into nick names: Puddy cat-cat, Troubled-one, Troubador-the-Magnificent; Marbles becomes Marby, Blaze is a shortcut for blazer, Little Taco: Taco.

Dog naming becomes part of the endless mind games on my mind's jungle gym. Mind frolics have always been part of the tracks on which my thoughts travel.

At times I have taken a more studious approaches to my wandering neural networks. While walking I have brought along podcasts or conference talks or language primers for greater French fluency. While falling asleep I've pondered mysteries of the universe and written beginning paragraphs of essays. 

Always is the shadowing intent of keeping my mind limber and flexible, of solving puzzles or problems. I've sorted those problems like decks of cards hoping to turn over an ace or four in a suit.

But always, my mind bursts from the constraints of serious and important and it gets lost in what I call mindless chatter. It's what I would bark at my children when they overdosed on silly and unimportant talk. "Mindless chatter," I barked, and they would straighten out their thoughts like laundry to be sorted and put away. To this day, when we are gathered, one of those precious children will bark out "Mindless chatter!"

Yet, here I am walking on a beach naming dogs. Mindless chatter. 

Or is it necessary chatter. Has the brain been chained to the doghouse for too long and it needs to be set free?

So, when I take a walk, I leave my phone home. Or I only bring it along in case I see a photo. Or in case that mindless chatter turns into an idea that can be explored (case in point). I leave intentional agendas home and dedicate the space, the walk, to mindless chatter. This is how I come to Dog Beach readjusting the monikers of our furry friends.

I've come to wonder again (oh dear, it never stops), if this free-float of ideas is as important to health as eating vegetables, exercising, and telling people I love them.