We talk about our process. We process our process.
When you ask us for a decision, we tell you, "I don't know. I'm still processing."
Processing, processing, processing.
What is processing?
Well, until recent years, processing was something that happened to meat.
Meat processing plants are places where people and machines cut up meat and make it into steaks, hamburger, and hot dogs.
A cow or a pig becomes a hot dog.
In other words, something big - something too big to eat in one piece -
is cut up, mashed up, changed - into something small you can eat.
is cut up, mashed up, changed - into something small you can eat.
It is easier to eat a hot dog than to eat a pig.
It is easier to eat a hamburger than to eat a cow.
You get the idea.
So... because are people are crazy and creative and smart and their brains are always working like scissors and sewing machines, one day someone said,
"I don't know what I want to do about that situation. I need to process that a while."
What does that mean?
It means this situation is like a big cow or pig in this person's brain.
They cannot eat this situation. They cannot understand it.
They must cut it, mash it, squeeze it, separate it into many smaller pieces.
Then they can eat the idea. Then they can understand it. Then they can make a decision.
So now, many, many, many Americans use this word "process" to talk about cutting something up in their mind, mashing it and slicing it and changing it into something they can understand it.
They also use it to mean to talking with another person for this same purpose.
Some people love to process.
If they have a problem in their relationship, they want to process the problem with the other person.
Does this mean going on a picnic together? Or visiting Disneyland? Or a meat plant?
No, it means a lot of talking. Lots and lots of talking. Often the person who is angry or upset and needs to process does the most talking.
Sometimes, if you say to that person, "I don't like to talk so much. When I have a problem, I like to talk a walk and think about it. Or I like to pray or meditate about it. Or I like to write about it," - if you say that to a person who likes to process, they will often tell you, "Well, that is my process. I need to process things with people." And they will give you a look that says, "And that is the best way to do things and you should like to do things this way, also."
Okay, they won't always give you that look... but sometimes they do.
So... what's your process?
When you have a problem... when you have something really big to understand... when you have a decision to make... what's your process?
Do you like to talk long walks and think about your problem while you walk?
Do you like to process your problem with a friend?
Do you like to process it in your writing? Do you keep a journal? Do you write down the pros and cons, the good and the bad, all the choices you must choose between?
Do you like to paint, hike, garden, or watch tv when you have a problem?
Ooops - I think I just wrote down what I like to do when I have a problem!
I also like to process some things with friends. It depends on the problem. And it depends on where I'm at in my process.
Sometimes, in the beginning, I like to just sit with the problem.
This means I do or don't think about it. I might go outside and put some compost on my vegetable garden. Or pick some weeds. Or talk a walk. I might come inside and paint a mandala or stare out the window and watch the ships move like waterbugs across the water. Then I might lie on the couch and watch a very intense drama on tv. If the people in the drama have big, big problems, this is best. I like on the oouch and I watch these people struggle with their problems and I forget about mine.
For a while.
Then, I might write about it. Or call a friend. Or do both.
That is my process.
How about you?
Extra Credit
By the way, the noun process rhymes with the noun progress.
But the verb process does not rhyme with the verb progress - at least here in California.
We say the noun process and the verb process the same way -
the pro rhymes with bra, ma, paw, law, and saw.
But with progress, here in California, the land of progress,
we say the verb progress so that the pro rhymes with go, sew, woe, and no.
Is that crazy?
Yes.
But that is the process of progress in the Land of Language.
Remember, we don't live on Planet Perfect.
At least, I don't.
How about you?
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