Adult Brain, Child Brain, not Ying and Yang

You've heard how the two sexes are like Ying and Yang, opposite and complimentary. But have you noticed that no one has come up with a symbolic comparison of the adult mind and the child mind? I sometimes think it's because they are so diametrically opposed they couldn't fit together in one symbol. I read a piece from a Harvard brain scientist who wrote a book called My Stroke of Insight. She tells how she had a massive stroke, but instead of it being devastating to her, she found it utterly fascinating! To experience firsthand the breakdown of the organ she'd studied so thoroughly was awesome to her, because she could actually understand what was happening to her, as it was happening. Because her left lobe was damaged, at first she was entirely in her Right brain. She described it as euphoric. She was completely in the present and fascinated with every detail of her surroundings. On the other hand, she could not understand why she had to put her socks on before her shoes because she had no ability to analyze, predict cause and effect or understand a sequence of events that would exist beyond the present moment. Parents, doesn't that totally sound like a child's mind? And maybe one of the reasons (besides complete lack of responsibility) that childhood is such a happy, magical time. And no wonder we stodgy adults (when we have an ounce of energy and a moment of time to consider it) hope we're keeping our inner child alive.This weekend I took the boys to Meeman-Shelby State Park. We went to a Nature Center by a lake. Here are some pictures of the boys by the lake. I saw a lake and trees. The boys saw scenery filled with droids and clones that needed to be attacked. I remember when my imagination was so active as I explored the wilderness in my parents backyard. Now my imagination is pretty rusty. I wonder if that's a function of the adult brain, or just a lack of exercising it?
And tonight Jack was helping me clear the dishwasher. He knows where everything goes, but he wanted to make a game of every object to be put away. "Does it go in this drawer, Mom, or this drawer or this drawer, Mom?" (pointing to several different wrong drawers). Me: (tired, behind schedule and no-fun) "Come on Jack, you know where it goes, just put it away." When approaching a task the adult brain just wants to do everything as efficiently as possible. The child brain wants to make everything as fun as possible. I really need to get me some child brain, or maybe just a full-night's sleep.