Post date: Friday, Feb 10, 2023
I have a man-cave in the basement. The walls are festooned with mock "trophies" made from cardboard and bedroom slippers, the floor has a manly carpet with moose, bears, and wolves, and the couches are upholstered in Herculon, which insures that they will not only outlive us, but also survive volcanic eruptions and/or nuclear explosions. This is where I go when Vickers' ladies group meets at our house, only to come up from the basement when they have their food break. On one such afternoon, about that time to make like Puxatawney Phil and reemerge from my burrow, I heard them start to laugh. A few seconds went by, and the laughter resumed, even stronger. This kept going on, until it was quite raucous! Shortly thereafter it was time to partake in the snacks everyone had brought, so I took the opportunity to ask them what had amused them so.
They explained that they had just finished discussing how, once you reach a certain age, it becomes more difficult to retrieve words or names from our memory, one person was retelling a shared experience when they couldn't come up with a word. The next person around the table correctly guessed that word, and continued the story, until they couldn't recall a name of one of the people involved. This continued around the table - it took all six of them to be able to finish one story!
It is so frustrating to not be able to come up with a word in mid-[let's see, what are a collection of words called.. oh yes] sentence! Why couldn't we have the famed memory of an elephant… or a… manatee?
"Despite the nickname “sea cow,” manatees are more closely related to another four-legged mammal. It has been suggested that manatees evolved from four-legged land mammals over millions of years, and that the closest relative to today’s manatees is elephants. Manatee’s flippers, except for the Amazonian manatee, have vestigial toenails, evidence of claws that they once had when living on land. The nickname sea cow is most likely just in reference to manatee’s slow nature and large stature." [Oceana.org]
It has been shown that our strongest memories are those that are associated with strong emotions. Combining that with "use it or lose it", I find it helps my memory and cognitive skills by using them in endeavors that give me strong pleasure, such as using whatever diminished IT skills I have in a new way, in service to others: whether in straightening out the finances of a church that has a great impact in the community; providing analysis for the operations of assisted living housing that lifts up the residents, staff, and community; or facilitating small family businesses thrive in today's economy.
Have you ever noticed that you come up with great ideas while taking a shower, or going for a walk? I find that if I am stumped on a problem, it helps sometimes just to lie down like I'm going to take a nap, and then, as I'm drifting off to into slumberland, the solution coalesces in my brain! Like a manatee slowly moving from kelp bed to kelp bed, delightedly munching on their sea bed salad bar, engaging in a repetitive non-cerebral activity can cleanse our minds from the clash of a myriad of thoughts, and allow the subconscious to problem solve without us actively thinking about it. So, my suggestion for solving those knotty problems we all wrestle with, is to be like a manatee: swim gently along, enjoy your kelp and other pleasures of life, and the answers may come when you least expect it.
Embrace your inner manatee!
To get to the next page, click on this link: https://www.manateeinthemirror.com/post/sharing-space (soon to come) If you would like to follow a specific topic, click on one of the following links. Knowledge: https://www.manateeinthemirror.com/post/if-it-ducks-like-a-quack (soon) Cognition: https://www.manateeinthemirror.com/post/how-many-five-letter-words-are-there (soon) Service: https://www.manateeinthemirror.com/post/the-dominican-republic-experience (soon)
Day 5: 264.8
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