I was struggling to reach the higher branches with the extending tree saw and clipper when my 16 year old son, Mitchell came out to see what I was doing. I had stood and stared at these low hanging branches of the neighbor’s oak tree from various angles, both on the path and from the kitchen window and today was the day I was done with them. They obstruct the sunlight and I get the lion’s share of the acorns in the fall to pick up. So I had decided to cut these branches off and let the light in.
Mitchell is taller and stronger, a fact that sneaks up on you as a mother. One day you just realize your child is bigger, stronger, better than you are at these types of jobs. After clipping one branch he was ready for the rest. He liked the challenge of getting through a bigger branch farther away and controlling the swing of the now 15’ saw as it broke through and the limb came down. Bigger, stronger, better.
So I watched him, proud, and with time to think about this. I got to thinking about neurological pruning and life and aging.
When we are born we have more than 100 billion neurons which are the nerve cells of the brain. This is more than we will ever have as we go through a process of creating connections, strengthening connections, and also discarding connections in our brain. These connections are called synapses and except for the synapses that govern basic functions like breathing, heart rate, sleeping and eating, they develop after birth. They develop in response to our experiences and represent learning. By the time we are 3 years old we will have ONE THOUSAND TRILLION synapses! By the time we are teenagers we will have discarded half of these. Some parents will argue that it is more than half but that is another blog.
I have always liked the example of patching a weak eye of a child. The weaker eye is patched in order for the child to use it, creating connections in the brain, or synapses, before they are discarded and that eye remains weak.
This process of discarding synapses or connections is called pruning. It is extremely important so that we can function without being overwhelmed. We prune synapses to let the sunlight in and reduce the amount of useless “stuff” or acorns that fall on our life. Our lives actually become richer and fuller as our brains organize.
It would be great if we could treat this neurological pruning process like a bonsai. Select a small branch here, something we no longer need, a small branch there, an activity that does not fit and keep the basis of what will create longevity and a desirable shape to the tree of our life.
In fact to a certain degree we can. When we prune a tree in our yard or a prized bonsai in its pot we choose to keep the portions that are going to create value and we cut away that which does not contribute. So, what do we keep?
• Intellectually stimulating activities like Crossword puzzles Sudoku, Learning something new like a language, Reading
• Physical activity such as walking, hiking, swimming
• Maintaining and engaging in relationships with family and friends.
• Eating healthy
• Spiritual engagement
Those are the branches to keep. Exercise our brain, exercise our body, slow down the pruning of synapses.
What do we prune away? Many experts feel that our 50s and 60s are a time to give up unhealthy habits. Overdrinking, smoking, overeating.
I would bet if we took the list of things to keep as a basis and built our lives around these we would find fewer acorns and more sun on the path.
Courtesy of Inmagine Google Images