I’ve been ruminating, and it’s not a good thing.

Last week, I came across a short article on depression. I think the title was something like “Five Things That Cause Depression,” although I’m not sure. I am sure it had five problems and they all related to depression.

Depression is a huge issue in our country, and we seem to have the biggest problem in the world. Why would the richest nation also be the most depressed? Maybe it’s really true that a person’s life is not measured by the abundance of his or her possessions.

Five problems that make depression worse are really helpful to know. Here are five among many: 1) lack of exercise (your activity level, especially outside activities have a big affect on how you feel and look at life); 2) poor diet (I assume that means eating the wrong foods as well as too much food); 3) isolation (that’s one reason why people who attend church regularly are generally happier and live longer); 4) the absence of light (therefore, get up early and open the curtains); and 5) Ruminating.

Ruminating? Thinking is bad for you?

I had to look it up. Ruminating means to think deeply, to go over something in the mind repeatedly.

But here’s the best part of the definition. Ruminating is what a cow does as it chews the cud. Ruminating means to chew  again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed.

We all know the danger of reliving past experiences and constantly dealing with old subjects, often subjects that are years old and can’t be changed.

Thinking is not bad, but reanalyzing old issues won’t help.

So, what should we do? The Bible talks about “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”  (Philippians 3:13) and thinking about things that are noble, true, lovely, and admirable (Philippians 4:8-9).

Ruminating keeps us in the past or in areas we cannot change. When we focus on God and His blessings we find a totally new outlook on life. It really is good for you to “Count Your Blessings.”

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