small sip: minding and mining
We're talking verbs here. 'Will you mind the children?' 'Remind me what your name is?' 'Do you mind?' [Ha! Seems less and less as A.I. vicariously offers to do it for us...]
'The mind' is given a lot of power and voice. But it isn't a thing. However, as a verb, it's a form of tending.
'Do you mind?' That's a question based on care.
If I mine something it's very different. I am specifically looking for a noun, I'm extracting something I don't have or want/need more of. It's scarcity based. We appear to be doing more and more mining (for information, answers etc) and less and less minding.
If I mind, I'm responding, and at whatever level (protesting, resisting, caring, reflecting)... that's life/love verbing.
p.s. While typing this it suddenly occurred that 'mine' means ownership. Wondering which came first, to mine as in 'extract' or mine 'own'?
#small-sip #wording #verbing #mind