“A poem is the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Friday, February 22, 2013

Fun Therapy


Expanding the brain
though it threatens to seize up
is my drug of choice.

So I go to school.
The discussion and laughter
make me come alive.

My brain loves to dance.
Who knows where it will take me?
At least we have fun.

9 comments:

Karen said...

Fun is always good! What kind of course are you taking?

Ms. CrankyPants said...

My MS brain makes the prospect of school or trying out for a local theater group (I used to be in drama and *loved* it) intimidating. The memorizing...sigh. Very curious about your course and glad to hear it's fun!

Gail said...

Hi Judy - sounds wonderful. Fun is the perfection distraction! :-)
Love Gail
peace....

Muffie said...

I'm in awe!! Going back to school -- wow -- what an adventure. What are you studying? And you're right -- learning new things does help our brain. I wouldn't be able to go for physical reasons, and online courses are expensive. But I try to do puzzles and read -- I hope my brain is getting a small workout that way.
Peace,
Muff

Robert Parker said...

Well said. Sometimes, fun is all we have.

And for an "all we have" thing, isn't "fun" the best!?!

Damned straight. As I've had to explain to far too many people, "Quality of life is all I have. I don't care what your Brilliant Idea For Curing My Disease is... if you even think you can take my quality of life, you're wrong."

So... hooray for fun!!!!

Judy said...

Thanks for cheering me on. The course I am taking is part of a series I have been involved with for seven years, The Great Books Foundation series. I am lucky that I live in a community that has a great university continuing education program, basically designed for seniors but open to everyone. The GB series has been a wonderful survey of great literature, philosophy, economics, political science, et al. It is a small, by design, group no bigger than 25 and is always sold out. The group includes former judges, lawyers, businesspeople, a minister, a Talmud scholar, a school superintendent, schoolteachers, psychologists, et al. A core group of about 15 has gone through the entire series with me. It is one of the joys of my life and I am so grateful that I have just enough mobility and stamina to make it to the Friday gathering during each of the four quarters. Over the seven years, my fellow students, who have at times designated themselves as a family, have witnessed my decline from being fully mobile to being challenged and are very supportive of me. They have become great friends and, really, at this point, are my primary support network.

Karen, this year, we have discussed or are about to discuss Euripedes, Keats, Hawthorne, Mill, Santayana, Russell, Lawrence, Benedict, Akutagawa, Niebuhr, Sartre, Wright, Weil, Welty, Lessing, O'Connor, and Neruda.

Gail, it is an enriching activity.

Muff, when I first started with the discussion group, I regularly would lose words and threads. Now, while not completely free of that, I am much better able to carry on a discussion.

Robert, hooray for fun, indeed. This activity is a huge contributor to my quality of life.

Judy said...

Ms CP, I inadvertently failed to respond to you in the above. I'll blame it on the split screen document I was using to gather my thoughts. :) I won't blame it on my brain, though I'm sure there is a bit of blame to assign to it.

Tammy said...

I love all your poems. Just thought I'd use my brain and have some fun to let you know!

Judy said...

Tammy, thank you. I hope you have fun!