The Brain as a Muscle
We know that the brain is a muscle, but do we really believe it? All hidden away in our skull, we can’t see it grow or shrink the way we can see a leg or an arm change with use or neglect. I remember when the doctor took off my cast how small and weak my lower leg was. It was obvious that it hadn’t been used for six weeks.
Where with our other muscles, we can see the toll of time or disease; with the brain it can easily be hidden. But the truth is we don’t have an unlimited amount of time to be able to think clearly. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, injury and chemical imbalances can all get in the way of our ability to think.
Thinking is a sport...get in there!
So if the brain is a muscle, then it would make sense to think of using that muscle as a sport. With most sports there is a season of life that is prime for playing. Gymnastics is a very young sport where as cycling can incorporate many ages. Still, there is a point where we no longer can play a certain sport. It’s the same with thinking.
So if today were your last day to be able to think the way you are used to, what would you think about? What things would you capture and create? What ideas would you pass on or leave behind for others to follow up on? Funny thought isn’t it? Prioritizing what you think about. When you think of it this way, there’s just no time left for worrying or rehashing disturbing memories, for holding a grudge or wishing for something that didn’t happen.
Capturing Today for Tomorrow
I think of the movie, The Notebook, where a husband comes every day to read his wife’s journal of their love story. She has lost her memories of him and their love, but she is interested in the story and it seems to comfort her. What a gift to him and to herself that journal was! It’s safe to say that it was a wise investment of her thinking time to write that out.
But it’s hard to think when life is so chaotic. That’s why we need to cultivate the habit of capturing moments little by little along the way. Just like we snap pictures of our lives, we need to jot down thoughts, ideas and notes for later. We need to become shutterbugs with our thoughts.
So the point is, we need to exercise our brains so that they are strong. We need to realize that we only have a limited time to play the sport of thinking, and we need to discipline ourselves to capture today for tomorrow.
Blessings as you think today.
What will you think about while there is still time?
Comments