Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!

Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope today’s newsletter will bounce us up as we contemplate the upsides and challenges of being neurodivergent, a little beauty, some creativity, and just general yeehawesomeness.

Table of Contents

• Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!

  • Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope t …

• Wabi Sabi Life

  • Ha Ha Haiku

  • (Doctor) Amen Amen Amen

    • Yeehawesome!

    • Quote of the Week

  • Wonderful Wednesday

  • Today’s Beany-full Summary:

Wabi Sabi Life

Perfectionism, anyone?

I’ll have mine with a side of greens.

Speaking of green stuff, this Wabi Sabi Gardening video actually made me sob this week. I needed that. So much is going on in life and in the world. I mean, sheesh.

Simon Akeroyd is a famous gardener in the UK, but he also has a lot here to say about life:

• Wrinkles are a sign of a lovely life.

• Brokenness can be beautiful.

• Having smile lines means you smile.

• Piles of dead plant trimmings add to the je ne sais quoi of our garden-life.

• Ageing is good and normal.

• Let’s be thankful.

Perfectionism sucks. It’s like a disease.

The elusiveness of perfection means that my brain buzzes with too much beaniness. Too much jumpiness.

Simon Akeroyd’s video was supportive of a slower moment.

Breathing.

Calming.

The hyper jumping beans in my brain can lie down on the exercise mat for a minute.

Ha Ha Haiku

A funny haiku for you every week in every newsletter, whether it’s one of my own or one I curate for you. HA. Ha. Haiku.

(Doctor) Amen Amen Amen

This is the third time I’ve shared (the US psychiatrist) Dr. Daniel Amen’s daily routine for a healthy brain. It’s yet another reminder for myself…

The video is only 3 minutes long, but if you’d like a bullet-point summary, here you go:

• 8 hours of sleep

• Blue-light blockers on electronic devices after sunset

• Bedtime: Say a prayer. Then ask yourself “What went well today?” and look for tiny micromoments of happiness

• This sets your dreams up to be positive

• Morning: get up and say, “Today’s going to be a great day!” resets your brain to look forward to the day

• Protein; healthy fats; polyphenols such as blueberries or strawberries

• Every decision: ask yourself is it good for my brain or bad for my brain?

• Move your body; don’t sit all day.

My friends and I have just passed one year of working out together (but separately in our own living rooms). I’m moving my bod. I’m getting much stronger.

I’m eating eggs, fish, tofu, nuts, avocado, fermented foods, lots of raw veg. Lots of delicious flavorful food.

The “what went well today?” and the “today’s going to be a great day!”—I’m not as good at that stuff yet. (How about you?)

Hence my third post about this very topic.

Third time’s the…

New neural connections charm?

Yeehawesome!

Yeehawesome! is a happy-brain roundup in each issue of Beany Brain. What’s happening that’s good in brain land? What’s bringing me joy?

1. The Story Book Cafe in Osaka! My son and I had to take a day trip (6 AM bullet train departure!) to Osaka this week for his US passport renewal at the US consulate (thankfully his final in-person renewal—from now on he can do it online). After his 10 AM consulate appointment and a visit to the Osaka Museum of History together, he buzzed off to Umeda station to do some trainspotting and I walked and found this cafe that I had looked up ahead of time. It wasn’t easy to find, especially as the tall concrete buildings in Osaka block Google Maps from working properly and the cafe was on the third floor of a block of bars down a side street! I ended up only having time and energy to get an apple juice there (it was blazing hot outside), but the sweet atmosphere of having picture books surrounding me really perked me up. I adore picture books.

2. Christopher Walken dances to Fatboy Slim:

3. Simon Mulholland with Obamobility in the UK and his horse Obama take disabled folks out in the countryside and on beaches. Absolutely lovely stuff.

4. DOLLY PARTON. Just before this Beany Brain goes to publication, I see that our Lady of Loveliness, Dolly Parton, has died. If anyone is yeehawesome, she is. I will write more about her next week, but for now, I want to acknowledge her death and her vivid life.

Quote of the Week

Beany Brownie Points and Extra Bonus Funniness

Wonderful Wednesday

Wonderful Wednesday was a day once a year in college when they would suddenly and surprisingly call off all classes and we’d play all day. The cafeteria provided special fun food and we’d do stuff outside like slip ‘n slides and jello wrestling in sumo suits. This segment of Beany Brain is dedicated to that memory of silliness and fun—no words, just a photo from the week that I’ve taken or found that reminds me to let the joy in. Since Beany Brain is published on Wednesday every week (at least, Wednesday in Japan), I hope you enjoy this Wonderful Wednesday.

Today’s Beany-full Summary:

• Simon Akeroyd’s video about wabi sabi gardening is good for life in general. Perfectionism stinks.

• Dr. Daniel Amen’s daily routine for a healthy brain.

• Go forth in Beany joy. What will help you feel yeehawesome this week?

Thank you for reading this installment of Beany Brain! You’re very welcome to hop on by any old time.

If you’re enjoying Beany Brain, please share with a friend or seventeen at www.beanybrain.com. Cheers big time!