Thought loops

     Lots of thoughts clamor around in my head; back and forth, in and out, up and down.  Making sense of the the mumbles and whispers, and even shouts at times that make my heart pound is scary and tiring.  How many times do we think a thought before it is a dead thought, a waste of time, I sometimes wonder.  Why do I think the same things over and over again and expect to understand the answers more clearly?  Is "beating the dead horse" going to get me anywhere?  Apparently my mind thinks so, it keeps revisiting over and over the same areas and thoughts.  Psychologists, counselors and others call these thought loops.  They play over and over and become quite intrusive at times, seemingly taking away our ability to focus, concentrate and maintain our serenity.  These thought loops are sometimes productive.  Sometimes, I think they draw attention to areas we still need to keep excavating and examining for meaning and connection and purpose in the grand scheme of our lives; they are the why's, the how's, the what-if's in life.  They're like someone, whose trying to get our attention, who stands beside us pecking on our shoulder, "excuse me," they might say, "have you thought about this yet...," or "maybe it's this..."  It is endless and natural, and we can only hope, productive at times.  Productive in that they reveal to us new bits and pieces of understanding into who we are, how we arrived at our current state of being, and our unique purposes in life.