By Father Eugene Hemrick • Catholic News Service • Posted February 14, 2019

As we conversed, I sensed something was wrong. My 90-year-old friend’s conversation was all over the place. When I left him, I shared my concern with his wife. “He is not processing well,” she confided.

We need not be old to lose our processing capacity. Some people are born slow processors, and some lose it due to illness or an accident.

Studies have shown we can process ideas and images in milliseconds, which is truly an incredible gift of God. As awesome as it is, too often we do not give it a second thought and take it for granted.

We must wonder how much anxiety would be avoided if we took our processing system more seriously and checked its intake better. We must also wonder how many sleepless nights are the result of not employing our processing system more profitably in understanding the causes of a gnawing problem.

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We live in a new age of mind-grabbing images like never before. When, for example, we watch a sporting event, we are suddenly tossed into a swirling world of split-second images. During intermissions, clever ads further bombard us.

If we think of our processing system in terms of a food processor, valuable lessons can be learned on prudently treating it.

When a food processor is overloaded, it often erupts or jams. Too much too soon can result in processor indigestion. So too can processor indigestion occur when we ingest too many thousands of images at once. Here wisdom dictates we give our processor system a rest periodically to avoid overloading our circuits.

Food processors are wonderful blenders. I often make a garlic, dill and lemon hummus. When the perfect amount of ingredients is added, the result is a cuisine delight.

Equally prudent is using our processing system to blend images and information that lift the spirit, are substantive and create peace of mind.

Nothing is more precious than our ability to process ideas and images. Wisdom dictates we not take it for granted. Its advice is to be selective in what we are processing and to rest the process every so often so we can enjoy a peaceful rest.