Today I am wondering about the new world. I feel my mind is still sharp, with thanks perhaps to doing a word puzzle every morning. For any of you who enjoy them as I do, try the Acrostic ones – taxing on the brain across a couple of disciplines. Also, I would use AI at least twenty times a day. My inherent curiosity never leaves me. Our general knowledge must be growing at an incredible rate now. I have asked ‘Will our brains ever become overloaded?’ The answer is that rather than filling up our brain’s storage, which is incomprehensible, reliance on AI for general knowledge is more likely to affect how our brain functions. In effect, it could make us lazy, in losing the need to use our brains to remember and retrieve information that we have gleaned over a lifetime. We risk reducing our processing skills.
I often marvel at the human body’s anatomy, and the purpose of each part of it. I asked AI the other day about the purpose of eyebrows. They have many uses. One is to direct rain and sweat away from our eyes, so that the moisture runs down the sides of our faces instead. They act as a filter to catch dust and dirt before it falls into our eyes. They can even shade us from bright sunlight – some better than others – like the Robert Menzies, Leonid Brezhnev, John Howard type. They can also indicate emotions – anger, sadness, surprise. Mine are no longer terribly effective – thinned out with age.
Nose hairs are an amazing filter against the same dust particles but also smoke, pollen, germs.
Fingernails – their hardness gives protection to the soft tips of our fingers. They allow us to pinch, scratch, peel and pick up tiny things.
The tongue, ears, lips, fingers, toes, feet, body hair. All have an amazing function when you think about it. Lips help us articulate consonants like b, f, m, p, v, w. They form a tight seal that keeps food, saliva and liquids inside our mouths. The shape of them can also indicate joy, scorn, bitterness, disgust, apprehension.
Why are some body parts hair-free – like the palms of our hands and bottom of our feet. Not having hair there improves grip, and specialized nerve endings enable us to fully experience tactile delights – the touch of another hand, the soft fur of an animal, the damp smoothness of a rose petal, the bark of a tree, the heat under the feathers of a hen, the cold of a glass of icy beer.
All this before we even consider the miraculous inner machine – thousands of parts – both large and microscopic – all moving, all working, all serving some amazing purpose. The human body is a miracle in my eyes.
Now I am watching it age all around me, in my older friends. Slowness of step, some now using walkers for security. The pauses in conversation – trying to find the word they need to keep their stories flowing. Sagging skin. Energy reserves diminishing. Age spots. Ageing voices. Hearing impairment. These are the physical things. But despite them, there is the same old joy in friendship, because their spirit is still the same, their unique character, and you can always feel the love.
We have another poets’ gathering on Sunday. I am endeavoring to write a new poem for it. Hopefully I will have one ready and will share it with you as soon as it’s done. I think there are people out there who don’t realize what great poets they are. Every now and then I read or hear something that evokes memories and reveals the beautiful inner soul of the poet.
If my writing evokes treasured memories in others, it has done its job.
For now, my friends, take care.
Warmly,
Sue
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