{"id":11968,"date":"2024-01-01T19:00:06","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T00:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/?p=11968"},"modified":"2023-12-29T15:10:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T20:10:18","slug":"woolgathering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/woolgathering\/","title":{"rendered":"Woolgathering"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Woolgathering.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11969\" src=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Woolgathering.jpg\" alt=\"Woolgathering--Sheep being sheared\" width=\"600\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Woolgathering.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Woolgathering-300x185.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Woolgathering-438x270.jpg 438w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a>I have never witnessed anyone shearing a sheep. I think it would be a hot, tiring job for both sheep and shearer. Perhaps they get through it by woolgathering, letting their thoughts roam.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Woolgathering began with a literal meaning.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/woolgathering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Miriam Webster dictionary<\/a>, woolgathering originally meant \u201cgathering loose tufts of wool &#8230; caught on bushes and fences as sheep passed by.\u201d That would have taken a long time with few results and little income. Those gathering wool probably appeared \u201cto wander aimlessly.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Eventually\u00a0woolgathering\u00a0developed a figurative meaning.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">It meant minds wandering aimlessly and foolishly.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Occasional thoughts with no purpose help us relax.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We enjoy time to:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>Sit on a porch and <a href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/shoot-the-breeze\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shoot the breeze<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Daydream under a shade tree<\/li>\n<li>Listen to waves lap against a beach<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Too much woolgathering gets us in trouble.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We want to pay attention when we:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>Work<\/li>\n<li>Drive<\/li>\n<li>Complete paperwork<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/word-to-the-wise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>A word to the wise:<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Work when we need to work. Woolgather when we have time to relax.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u201cFoolish dreamers live in a world of illusion; wise realists plant their feet on the ground\u201d (Proverbs 14:18 MSG).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a0Thanks to Jeri Stone for the suggestion. Image by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/myriams-fotos-1627417\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1421519\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Myriams-Fotos<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1421519\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.us5.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=11983df7ac45be83499003741&amp;id=1797662da7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email<\/a>\u00a0and receive a free copy of \u201cWords of Hope for Days that Hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have never witnessed anyone shearing a sheep. I think it would be a hot, tiring job for both sheep and shearer. Perhaps they get through it by woolgathering, letting their thoughts roam. Woolgathering began with a literal meaning. According to Miriam Webster dictionary, woolgathering originally meant \u201cgathering loose tufts of wool &#8230; caught on bushes and fences as sheep passed by.\u201d That would have taken a long time with few results and little income. Those gathering wool probably appeared&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\/woolgathering\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2910,677,923,2909,561,889,925,2908,938,553,486,2907,924],"class_list":["post-11968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-self-improvement","tag-aimless-thoughts","tag-devotion","tag-diana-derringer","tag-foolish-thinking","tag-idiom","tag-idioms","tag-life-lessons-from-english-expressions","tag-mind-wandering","tag-self-improvement","tag-sheep","tag-wisdom","tag-woolgathering","tag-words-wit-and-wisdom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Woolgathering - Diana Derringer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I think sheep shearing would be a hot, tiring job. 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