Do You Hear What I Hear?!

Ha! You think I'm going to start singing Christmas carols. In March!

Trust me, I am so glad Christmas is many many moons from now. When ITunes plays a Christmas carol, I fast forward that sucker so fast the patridge spins out of the pear tree.

What I am talking about are the voices in your head. The ones in my head give me a running commentary on life as it passes by. For instance, while walking through the grocery store I might look as thought I am intently looking for the frozen peas (we go through TONS of frozen peas because we use them as ice packs for various wounded body parts--we never actually eat frozen peas), but my mind is chattering something like this:

"Get the hell out of my way. Why the heck do you think it's okay to park your cart across the entire aisle as you grab your butter?...Are you really wearing those shoes to the grocery store?...What a cute baby!...Cool tattoo!...Wonder what she had to do to get such a big diamond?...Are my kids getting enough nutrients in their food?...If I was a good mom I would cook everything from scratch from vegetables I grow in my own garden!...What should I plant in the garden this year?...God, summer's coming and I'm still going to look like caca in shorts!...Why am I so short? My brothers are tall!...Hey, I have brothers! And sisters!...I wonder if anyone thinks my hair sucks as much as I do?...Jeanne's hair always looks nice!...Man, I miss Aunt Darlene!...I wish I lived in Omaha!...Omaha steaks!...A steak sounds so good!"

The above passage was just the first two minutes in the store. Because my inner voice never shuts up!

I did manage to silence the critical inner voice a few years ago. Good medication took care of it. That inner voice was a nasty bitch who needed a good slap upside the head. I'm glad she's gone.

But I'm afraid the regular inner voice is here to stay. She's ok, really, but man is she a talker! Never shuts up, that one!

What absolutely fascinates me is that some people do not have the voices in their heads giving them a commentary on life. They live life in blissful silence, never interrupted by inane comments. They simply exist in silence.

This, I cannot grasp. Who can you talk to if not yourself?! (And your pets, of course!)

I was rather comforted the other day when I was discussing visualization with the twins. They told me their coach tells them to do that. I've been telling them to visualize things since they were in middle school. (I've read studies that say visualization actually does make a difference in physical performance. For instance, visualizing yourself batting the ball perfectly actually affects your muscles in a concrete manner.)

When Jermaine told me it was hard to visualize things because the voices in his head were never quiet enough, I was pleased. I'd hate to think I've raised quiet mind people!

What about you? Do you or don't you have voices?!