Bemused… not to be confused with amused. I must admit, I used to think they meant the same thing but they don’t.
Bemused is what I am much of the time. As a writer, when I get caught up in something I’m working on, I often become absent-minded, dazed, distracted, and befuddled. (Don’t you just love a good thesaurus?)
Stress can cause a certain amount of bemusement. Once I have something stuck in my noggin that is causing me anxiety it’s like everything else around me ceases to matter. Stuff I’m actually physically doing gets done with the least amount of thought, much to the detriment of dry sleeves, clean floors, healthy toes, and undented fenders. No, I haven’t gone there yet, at least not because I’ve been distracted, but I’ve come close. What driver hasn’t? It’s a real eye-opener when it does almost happen though.
A good end to bemusement.
Being bemused is the cause of walking into a room and having no idea why I’m there. Or losing something I had in my hand only a second ago, making me wonder if I’m losing my mind… which I am, to bemusement.
According to this wonderful book I have sitting beside me, it’s also a synonym for tipsy and half-drunk. There’s something I can relate to, though not as often as I’m simply lost in my thoughts.
And so I try to focus; live in the moment, stay aware of my surroundings and what I’m doing. It’s harder than it seems and takes quite a bit of practice. We live inside our minds as much, if not more, than we live inside our bodies. Take reading, or watching a movie for instance. When we’re really into something, the rest of the world disappears. Ceases to exist. Until someone taps us on the shoulder or spills popcorn in our lap. But then that’s not bemusement. It’s concentration. Isn’t it?
No, I believe bemusement is more introverted. It’s self-absorption that can rise to a most dangerous level.
Which is not amusing in the slightest.
April 3, 2015 at 3:18 pm
I find this interesting as I have all the traits of someone who is often bemused…walking in rooms and having to walk back to wonder why I went there, daydreaming all the time, and yet I am an extrovert. Perhaps growing up when we were supposed to always be seen and never heard or else …I may have adopted this pattern…who knows but I love being alone. I read somewhere that as we age, that too can change from becoming more withdrawn and introverted…I may not be INFP and ENFP inMeyer’s Briggs
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April 5, 2015 at 10:56 pm
I’m an INTJ… I think… I’m drawing a blank. I must be bemused. 😛 But I don’t think it’s got as much to do with personality anyway as it does with the situation we find ourselves in. It’s easy for any of us to get self-absorbed, for instance, when we’re in pain. We withdraw because there’s nothing else at the moment that matters as much as what we’re feeling… know what I mean?
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Oliana. You gave me something to contemplate. 🙂
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April 5, 2015 at 11:05 pm
Well I’m glad my comment made you think…your posts always make me think 😀 I made a mistake I am ENFP but grief has visited me a lot in the past 10 years…I think you’re right …sometimes we just need time to lick our own wounds.
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April 5, 2015 at 11:15 pm
Yup, we do. Sometimes we’re the only one there is to take care of us.
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April 3, 2015 at 2:23 am
I, too, am often bemused. Tipsy, but not half-drunk. Unaware of where I stop and other things start….I suspect I can be amusing when I’m bemused:
“Where the bleep did I put my reading glasses?!”
Giggle from someone less bemused and more amused than I. “They’re on top of your head, Mom.”
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April 4, 2015 at 10:43 am
Ha! Yep, been there. Or even worse, in my hand. 😛
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April 5, 2015 at 2:24 am
Yep. Been there, too. =)
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April 2, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Well, thanks for the correct definition! I always thought it meant to be amused…be amused…haha..now I know, and believe me…I’m bemused most of the time. 😉
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April 5, 2015 at 10:49 pm
Seems we have a lot in common. Haha! 🙂
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April 2, 2015 at 8:38 pm
I love thesaurus sss or is it thesaurusi or thesauruses too. 🙂
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April 2, 2015 at 8:39 pm
I think it’s thesauri. And I think I just lisped. 😛
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April 2, 2015 at 8:43 pm
Well if it isn’t thesauri, I like it anyway 😀
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April 2, 2015 at 5:22 pm
I agree with bemused as being an introverted thing. I think an extrovert to express bemusement would turn the word into more like hysteria…..lovely post Linda something for me to ponder and try not to be too bemused…..
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April 3, 2015 at 12:03 am
Thank you, Michael. I think you may be right about an bemused extrovert. Glad I could give you something to contemplate. 🙂
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April 3, 2015 at 12:04 am
You always do.
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April 3, 2015 at 12:05 am
😀 Have a lovely day! I’m off to bed.
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April 2, 2015 at 4:26 pm
I am often bemused, bewitched bothered and bewildered!
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April 3, 2015 at 12:01 am
Me too! 🙂
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April 2, 2015 at 1:20 pm
No kiddin, I almost chose that word today. Great post!
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April 2, 2015 at 11:59 pm
Great minds, my dear. 😀
Thanks!
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April 2, 2015 at 12:47 pm
That is one word that I’ve never used in a sentence, but now I’ll know how to use it if I do. Interesting how many words go unused.
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April 3, 2015 at 12:00 am
It really is… I’m always looking for ways to expand my vocabulary a little though. 🙂
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April 2, 2015 at 11:37 am
I think I’ve heard so many people misuse the word “bemused” that I started thinking that it was a synonym for amused too. Although, a part of me always believed it was something related to feeling tipsy. 😉
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April 2, 2015 at 12:01 pm
Well there you go – you were doing better than I was. The tipsy thing for me was a total surprise. 🙂
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April 2, 2015 at 11:35 am
There should be a c-mused, after all there is an a-mused and a b-mused. ha! the meaning of bemused was a bit fuzzy in my head – i thought of it more along the lines of taken by something or idea. As in :The cat’s antics bemused him. I stand corrected. thank you,
Oh, as an aside Linda I just guest posted over at Cordelia’s Mom http://cordeliasmomstill.com/2015/04/02/busted-guest-post-by-paul-curran/ If you have time, I would be honored if you could drop by for a read. Thank You.
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April 2, 2015 at 11:59 am
You’re very welcome, Paul, and thanks for the link. I’ll be over for a read in a bit. 🙂
*looks up c-mused in the thesaurus* 😉
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April 2, 2015 at 11:27 am
Right up until the end I thought that I would be bemused throughout April, but I find that I’m not, just concentrating deeply.
http://findingeliza.com/archives/19253
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April 2, 2015 at 11:56 am
Concentration is good! 😀 Thanks for your comment, Kristin. 🙂
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April 2, 2015 at 11:27 am
Are you also bewitched, bothered and bewildered?
Sorry, Linda, I simply couldn’t resist.
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April 2, 2015 at 11:53 am
Ha! Yes, of course. Constantly. 🙂
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