People who give advice to older people (and there are dozens of these advice-givers!) all say that in order to keep our brains healthy and functioning, we need to take on challenging tasks. Here in the retirement community, the staff makes available crossword puzzles, sudoku, and other games that can be challenging, along with all sorts of educational programs.
And not just our minds, we also
need to challenge our bodies to keep them flexible, strong, and out of trouble
for as long as possible.
And we need to stretch and engage
in new activities. That’s the formula: New+Hard. Or at least hard enough. For
our minds and for our bodies.
I’m taking this seriously and
adopting two hard tasks, activities that are causing me to stretch. Also
causing me to doubt myself, to wonder if I’m crazy. I probably am, but I
accepted that about me long ago.
I’ll start with the physical. With
my vestibular migraine condition, any physical activity makes me dizzy. So for
the last half-year I have stopped exercising, except for walking outdoors,
which I do slowly and with frequent stops. But that’s not enough. While
exercise makes me dizzy, it doesn’t harm me. And the rest of my body wants me
to do more. I’m worried that I’m deteriorating, which only means growing old
faster. So I’m making some changes, doing some new stuff.
I’ve joined a class called “Sit
and Be Fit.” It sounds embarrassingly easy, so I’ve resisted. But I think it
will be a good way to gently work my way back into regular exercise. I’ve
discovered that it’s actually somewhat challenging. I’m moving my arms and legs,
swiveling my neck, and even stretching my fingers. Plus, it’s with a fun group
of people. That’s part of a good exercise program. It’s good, but not too
challenging.
I’ve joined another exercise group
that is challenging. I’m in a beginning Tai Chi class. I always admired
people who do Tai Chi. Slow and graceful, it seems like underwater dancing and
meditation rolled into one. But can I do it? I’m not sure I’m physically
graceful enough.
This is my new bodily challenge
and I plan to stick with it. (But check with me in a month.)
(Aside: I met my friend Marshall
last week and told him I was trying Tai Chi. He smiled and told me he much
preferred Chai Tea. Now I tend to mix up the terms, but it helps to laugh when you’re doing hard stuff.)
Now for the mind. I read that one
good exercise for the mind is learning a new language. I love languages and
have had the chance to learn several, including biblical Greek and Hebrew back
in my seminary days. I was pretty good at it, but then jobs, and kids, and real
life kicked in and I did not keep up my biblical language skills. The cliché,
“If you don’t use it, you lose it,” is usually true.
I certainly lost my Hebrew skills,
but I retained enough Greek to use the exegetical tools in Bible study. But at
a very basic level. For a long time, I’ve wished I had kept it up to the level
I could again read the New Testament in Greek. It seemed too ambitious a dream
and I’ve let it go.
Until now. I met a resident here
in the retirement community who was (and is) a classical Greek scholar. We had
a very enthusiastic conversation over lunch and I felt motivated to re-learn
biblical Greek. It’s amazing what one fortuitous encounter can do.
I hadn’t remembered how
complicated Greek was, or how many irregular verbs existed. I’m impressed at
what a smart young woman I must have been to have learned all that. Now it’s
not so quick or easy. I struggle to memorize verb tenses and vocabulary words.
At least now no professor is going to test me or push me to learn faster. I
have to encourage myself with going slowly and enjoying the journey.
And I do enjoy it. I’m having fun.
And hopefully stretching my mind and making new brain cells.
I’d better bring this to a close.
It’s almost time for my Chai Tea class.
