Reflection

The American Heritage Dictionary gives the following as the 4th definition of the word Reflect:

4. To think seriously.

I'm prompted to ask if there is a difference between "think seriously" and "seriously think." I'll have to seriously think seriously about that before I can answer that question.

“There are two distinct classes of what are called thoughts: those that we produce in ourselves by reflection and the act of thinking, and those that bolt into the mind of their own accord.” ~ Thomas Paine

Oh my, if that were a contest I'm not sure which would win in my mind. I spend time reflecting on my life and thinking seriously about things. I rarely do it in writing, however.

Sometimes when I'm thinking about something I get the urge to write it down. The writing process seems so slow and tedious, and becomes what is happening, rather than the thinking happening.

My thought process moves rapidly and roams hither and yon in the course of exploring something. Writing reins in that energy and establishes parameters that I try to think beyond.

Some thoughts can't be expressed in words. They can only be experienced or visualized.

Other thoughts only occur in the context of a long, imagined dialogue or monologue.