Brain Health: Keeping your brain active

If you have access to a thrift store you may find many art supplies at next to nothing costs.

Oh I stay active, sorry if it came across otherwise. I walk my dog every day, do most of my yard work and all housework, wrote spooky short stories for children under the name of Bon Rose. Have Bible study once a week and yes love the word games and puzzles but always wish I could paint. Nothing around thrift store wise and I have a friend in another state that’s a wonderful painter it’s through her is how I know the cost.

This is such sound advice. When I paint it's never with any expectations. Of course I want to get better at it, so I keep on doing it. I also watch you tube videos. They have so much information. And I like learning different techniques.

I just finished reading a book called Keep Sharp, by Sanjay Gupta, MD. It talks about building a better brain at any age. Those are his words. I found it so interesting. He has a 12 week program that is doable. I am sure that local libraries either have or can get.

You have the right idea.

Oh, I hear you. I have always wished I could paint, and started studying under my friend & winter neighbor several years ago. I was just beginning to improve when essential tremor ramped, and I began to regress. Some days I can't take a decent photo even with image stabilization!

However, all my trying reawakened my love of color and composition and restarted my creative juices. Our local Art League serves all, and there are Fiber Art, clay and other groups. I checked in and "clicked" with a very eclectic and active group of fiber artists. Today we put together a group project - a mixed media display called "Under the Sea" - for our gallery show in April.

Thanks to these awesome ladiesI have learned and fallen in love with wet felting & needle felting wool, to make wall hangings and 3D pieces. And I am working with natural dies on fabrics, and am tackling traditional Japanese Shibori techniques. Now I just need about 12 more hours in each day.
Sue

My old house manages to keep my mind working. Endless things malfunction and I must research how to repair them, and then do so. This requires utilizing parts of my brain I never have have before, many a day is a crash shop course.

This is so great! Things come up in our lives all the time. In your case it's your house. We are always navigating our day. And we learn to cope, deal with and become more reselient, learning new things, along the way. Sometimes out of necessity. Activating the brain in this way, just seems so natural to me.

I'm trying to resolve my dishwasher issues. I put them in clean and they don't come out that way. I have my users manual spread out on my kitchen floor trying to figure it out!

Like you post quite a bit!

I am an avid practitioner of what I call ‘optimal living’. The graphic added articulates my core thinking. Balance. 5 dimensions of living.
I’ve also read (listened to) several books on the topic, second graphic shows a sampling.
Your thoughts?

Thanks for sharing this Randy. I couldn't agree more and love the optimal balance graphic. It puts a lot in perspective. I wished I was an avid reader. Which of the books did you get the most from?

All are at least 4 star books, but the best two are Aging Matters by Stevens, as it addresses both aging, purpose and spiritual underpinnings.
and Your Deceptive mind by Novella. It deals with how we think and frailties of thinking/memory. Seldom do we ‘think about how we think’. That illuminates the thinking process.
Personally I find the Audible approach better, as it enables me to listen/absorb while doing necessary but mundane tings like pulling weeds, and walking biking the same old routes.

Read the post and will need to read Aging Matters. You bet it does! I wish more people would realized just how rewarding and what a privilege it is to age. Especially when one ages gracefully and with intention. When one has a willingness to try new things and not get stuck. Simple things like was mentioned change up your route, park your car in a different location when grocery shopping. Can you just imagine what happens when one makes medium And large changes?!

And I believe it should start with conversation and opening up dialogue for all kinds of wisdom to enter. The graph sure makes sense.