Patty Mayeux Blog

Wool gathering gets a bad rap. The phrase has come to mean mindless daydreaming. It is derived from an ancient practice of gathering bits of wool left behind on fences and bushes by grazing sheep which would yield little reward from a handful of tufts. Here I picture a proper young woman from the era of parasols and bustles, aimlessly picking leaves from the hedges as she strolls through a garden. Walking in nature as the goal, no destination in mind. Today we clock every step on our health app. There’s no time for wandering aimlessly, down-time is frowned upon.

I recently wool-gathered while attending some webinars as part of a writers’ symposium. As I gathered tufts of useful information, my mind drifted away on a mini mind-break midway through the 90-minute class. Call it down-time, I see it as productive. Those wooly wisps often become jumping off points for these short blog posts, or longer substack offerings, published on Wednesdays here. 

Go gather some wool, a tiny tuft at a time, for no other purpose than to shake loose some ideas locked away in that brain of yours. You might be surprised.