Brain. A fortress? Time to Break In!
From Lions at the Kill to Rusty Engines—How to Rewire Tired Minds?
7/21/20242 min read
The biggest curse of childhood? That relentless brain. It can't shut off. It's hungry, always receptive, devouring everything. It doesn’t filter, doesn’t judge. It just eats up the simplest phenomena and the most complex too. No hard problems for kids—they don’t believe in failure. No strong objections, no strong commitments.
They don't rest, except when they sleep, and even that changes. Sleep becomes a place where dreams mix with waking thoughts. Adults sleep to fulfill wishes, face fears, find solace in unfinished desires. Kids? They dream with their eyes wide open, their desires straightforward. No secret life sneaking into their sleep.
In those formative years, the brain is too busy absorbing everything. It doesn’t process choices, just fills up like a lion at a fresh kill. But then, things slow down. The brain hits its optimal stage. Ideas harden. Beliefs solidify. Truths become damaged goods, lies start to shine. Half the brain's energy goes into deciding what new information can come in. It gets protective, insecure.
So, what now? You hit your thirties and realize half the journey’s left. But the engine’s set. The car can’t shift gears like it used to. No more sudden stops, slides. What to do with all that time and travel?
Trick the car. Change little parts now and then. A wire here, a tire there. Swap the dashboard lining, seat covers. Replace the headlamps, foot carpets. Even the music system. With each old piece replaced, the drive feels new again.
If you’ve been steeped in rational, scientific work for years, dive into poetry, abstract art. Watch decades of iconic weeping scenes in movies. Study the evolution of crying—silent, slow, wild, tearless. Breaking down is an art form.
In the creative field? Learn the logic of argumentation. How scientific language grounds numbers. Explore the depths of dry logic, fuzzy logic, analytical reasoning.
A skilled worker? Try traditional oriental dance forms. Dive into native and tribal music.
Athletes and army personnel? Get into gardening delicate flowers, cross-pollination techniques. Discover the world of insects, unexplored sea life.
At the end of the road, we circle back to childhood. Shed judgments. Shred early training to find new experiences. The withered body and mind need new, cozy, soft refuges—not hard stones, not decaying dwellings.
In the end, new beginnings. Day to night, night to day. Light gives in to shadows, shadows yield to light. Flowers become fruits, fruits turn to seeds, seeds to seedlings.
Nature rolls over our puny truths. They glow as hardened corals in deep darkness, useless to the new-borns but a sprinkle of once being.