Brain Exercise

They always say when you exercise you should mix it up as it works different parts of your body and keeps your muscles guessing. Now, I have a hard time following this because I enjoy running, but I attempt with a little Boot camp class at the YWCA here in Clinton.

However, I realized recently that the same holds true for your brain! My downstairs neighbors (best landlords EVER) invited me down one evening to eat popcorn and play a new card game with them that they'd recently learned. I was excited because it had been years since I'd played cards. It was so much fun! My brain was definitely stretched to think in a way that it wasn't accustomed to. Counting points, strategizing when to lay cards down, paying attention to what cards people were collecting, trying unsuccessfully to maintain a poker face simultaneously was difficult, but FUN!

This led me to reflect how I really enjoy when my brain gets to think in different ways. I'm hoping to get to play my flute in the local town band in Wilton before I leave for Nigeria as that is a way that I have neglected due to lack of regular opportunities.

Blogging provides an opportunity to write in narrative form. I remember when I first blogged in Nigeria it felt strange at first but throughout the year it got easier to think in a compositional way. I feel the rustiness again, but my brain is excited to stretch in this way again!

In preparation for living in El Salvador, I knew I should start practicing some Spanish again. During a visit to Chicago and stay in a hostel we met up with some other travelers from Latin America and had the opportunity to speak Spanish for a few hours. It was kind of like trying to run a 10K after laying on the couch for 5 years. However, I also remembered how much I LOVED it!

It's easy to get in a life routine where the brain is thinking in the same way all the time. These slightly divergent activities have reminded me how much I love the the "feeling" of thinking in these different ways!