Your Brain Has a Mind of Its Own | Healthy Aging Series: S10 E22
My 50th high school reunion is in a couple weeks. Hard to believe. 50 years gone…<Snapping my fingers>… just like that.
I hope I’ve grown a little, improved a little. I hope I’ve become a little kinder and a little more considerate. Maybe, even more responsible.
The upcoming reunion triggered some high school memories. Some that I’m not exactly proud of. Let’s just say that at times, I could be a smart ass.
I remember one morning of my senior year. I arrived at physics class a little early. Mr. Augsburger had set up some light experiments, bending light or some such nonsense. Mr. A was a good teacher. He would pull Jeff Wilson and me out of study hall to help out with basketball concessions or just hang out. And we would talk shit. If you knew Jeff Wilson, you would understand completely.
As I entered the classroom that morning, Mr. A said, “Neese, don’t touch anything!”
And of course, me being a smart ass, I responded, “Why, you didn’t pay for any of it!”
We all have our hot buttons. Mine are litter, pretentiousness, parochialism, blah, blah, blah. Well, Mr. A’s hot button must have been something like, “Don’t misuse or damage public property, property that belongs to all of us!”
Maybe, when he sent me to the office for suspension, he was saying:
“Yeah, I did pay for it, and I want to take care of it and it really, really annoys me that young people don’t appreciate and respect public property, property that belongs to all of us.
Then maybe, he would continue.
“I’m tired of people shrugging off responsibility for taking care of school property, city parks, and yes, even things like the rivers and streams in our country and even the air. I’m tired of people saying it’s not my job to take care of things and places that belong to everyone.
So, maybe he didn’t suspend me for all of that and maybe what he really thought was that I needed some consequences for my smartassery. I’d like to think it was the former not the latter.
I’d like to think it was about stewardship.
Season 10 Finale
I’ve spent the past 20+ episodes writing about the aging brain. I’ve called this Season: “It’s all About the Engine.” This refers to the engine that ensures you can walk, talk, tie your shoes, and all the other things you do; you know, your brain. If the engine quits working, or is damaged, or if you simply do not take care of it, then you’re likely to have a problem. You can be like that ‘56 Chevy (the year I was born) that was pampered, driven hard, well maintained, looks great, runs great, and rides great, or like the one rusting in the junk yard from years of neglect. Stewardship starts with your brain.
Season Recap
This season I’ve written about:
Diet for a healthy brain
Your brain on nature
Your brain on hobbies
Your brain on exercise
Your brain on the mind
Green exercise
How to improve your cognitive fitness
How to be a Super Ager
On the Shortness of Life
The Art of Exuberant Living
A Fairy Tale: The Magic Necklace
I’ve shared the lives of some healthy agers
Betty White
William Shatner
My friend, Don Andrews
I’ve also shared lives of people who have suffered with Alzheimer’s Dementia
B. Smith.
Glen Campbell
Faye and her Daughter, Carolyn
Sandeep Jauhar and his Father
When I titled this episode, “Your Brain Has a Mind of Its Own,” here’s what I meant:
You have a brain. I want you to see your brain as something you have to care for, something to be a good steward of! Again, you have a brain. You are your mind. You (your mind) need to take care of your brain.
Your brain cannot take care of itself.
Your brain cannot get out and walk in the morning
Your brain cannot stay away from processed food and choose to eat real food.
Your brain cannot take a hike.
Your brain cannot stop using alcohol.
Your brain cannot get a good night’s sleep.
Your brain cannot decide to take up a new hobby, learn a new language, or start writing.
You have to do all of that. You have to take care of your body. What’s good for the heart is good for the brain. You have to take care of your body, your heart, and your brain.
Next month, my son and I are doing a Rim to River to Rim hike in the Grand Canyon in one day. That’s 20 miles, 5000 feet of elevation up and 5000 feet of elevation down. It should take us about 11 hours.
Yesterday my training hike was an 11-mile hike in the Jefferson Memorial Forest, with a 20-pound pack. I did an average of 20 minute miles (plus breaks) and that totaled 3 1/2 hours with an average heart rate of 129 bpm.
Next weekend I’m going to do a 13 1/2 mile hike in the Jefferson Memorial Forest doing the Siltstone Trail, which will have a significant increase in the elevation due to all the hills on that trail.
Why do I do these things?
I do them because I want to take care of my brain. Who else is going to?
This episode has been about stewardship. It’s about taking care of something that belongs to you and not to others. Unfortunately, many haven’t taken the message seriously. Many will neglect the one thing that makes you, you.
One More Way to be a Good Steward of Your Brain
This past week, I read an article in the New York Times, entitled, “The Foods that Fight Inflammation,” by Jill Pretzel. You can look at this diet and substitute any disorder, disease, or chronic illness into her title.
“The Foods that Fight…., cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disease, etc.”
Here’s the diet that they suggest:
First, vegetables, especially leafy greens.
Second, fruits, especially berries.
Third, legumes, which mostly includes beans.
Fourth, turmeric, and other spices.
Fifth, fermented food, which would include things like sauerkraut and kimchi, although you’ve got to watch those as well because some of them just contain brine water.
Sixth, Omega-3 fatty acid, hemp, Chia seed, avocados, etc.
Seventh, Coffee and tea.
They don’t mention protein, except for salmon, but most of us do not get enough protein.
This diet looks like the diets I’ve written about for the healthy aging brain. It looks like the MIND Diet. It looks like the Mediterranean Diet. It looks like the Whole Food Diet. It looks like the Wahl’s Protocol Diet (for autoimmune disorders). It looks like every healthy diet that I’ve written about and every healthy diet that I’ve read.
50 Years Later, Hopefully a Good Steward
I’ve grown a lot these 50 years and would never say, “Why, you didn’t pay for it,” despite still being a smart ass. I’ve learned the importance of good stewardship of public space and public places and public property and…… Yes, my brain.
Season 11 Tease
I hope you’ve enjoyed this season on the aging brain. I have some random episodes that I’ll share over the next few months. Then in January or February 2025, I’ll launch Season 11. I’m calling it: Aging with an Attitude. I’ll include several Folktales that will form a collection that I’ve entitled Finding Wisdom in Fairytales. Also, I have several episodes on Stoicism and Aging. Then I’ll share some memoirs from those who are Aging with an Attitude (Willie Nelson, Kathleen Turner, Billy Crystal, and maybe a few more). Of course I’ll share an interview from a healthy ager.
That’s coming soon.
See you then.
