It’s not that I’m against “brain games.” They’re an enjoyable and a way to spend your spare time.
Whether it’s chess, bridge, crossword puzzles, hand-held games, soduku, or computer games, many boomers and seniors hope to ward off the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease by keeping their mind active.
But remember, nothing can replace purpose.
Our brains and hearts know what’s really important and what’s not. When we become empty nesters and/or life slows down, we can’t fill it with golf, games, and country clubs and think that’s going to make us happy or mentally sharp.
Reinvent yourself. Learn something–and yes, chess, etc., does count, but why not examine your heart and really go for it? Why not volunteer, start a second career, or find something that really engages you past mild entertainment?
I know, you’re tired, you work all day, you’ve worked all your life…you don’t have the money, or you just don’t have the drive. Sounds like depression and complacency has reared its ugly head.
You don’t have to kill yourself to begin to take small steps.
Try something new. Volunteer once or twice a month at a literacy organization, go online and find a local charity and donate your skills as a carpenter, computer expert, or cook–plan a “giving” vacation and go build a school or clinic in Guatamala.
I’m just not like that, you say….that’s not me. I’ve been too busy building a career, raising …
I understand, but it’s a new day.
I can’t promise you that Alzheimer’s or dementia won’t skulk in through the backdoor of your brain, but I say it’s going to have to catch me.
I need purpose. I need something bigger than me to believe in, to give myself to.
I want a life of passion and purpose.
I can’t control the future, but I can sure make it difficult for fear to wrap its gnarled grip around my neck.
Boomer means to boom!
A few months ago, I held a memoir based writing workshop at Cathedral Gardens. I taught over 100 seniors and we spent the day totally engaged. We wrote their stories–adventures gathered in their lifetime. One gal, (97 years old) wrote her detailed and eloquent account of joining the Merchant Marines in 1930 and sailing around the world seven times. She spent hours writing and dictating her story. She wasn’t worried about her arthritis or whether her brain might go haywire. She was wholeheartedly engaged in her story. Her purpose for that day was to get it on the page.
These seniors lit up. They went into that zen place where your thoughts and creativity take you, when you don’t talk, you work contentedly, you don’t even think about going to the bathroom or being hungry. you’re lost in your own little world. That’s what I’m talking about! At the end of the day, we hugged with gusto. They were proud of their work. (See some of their photos on the first page of my website at www.mothering-mother.com).
Active, vital engaged people don’t sit around waiting and worrying about something “getting them.”
They’re too busy creating, planning, and working at things that really matter to them.
I think we ward off a lot of icky crap by simply refusing to give in. Whatever comes, comes, but I still say that the joy and passion you gain by really giving yourself to others, or to somethng you deem worthwhile is better than dreading what might or might not happen.
Author of Mothering Mother: A Daughter’s Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir
available on Amazon and in most bookstores.
