Okay, I did it!  I got through the first week of work and only had one instance where I had to leave the desk and have a quiet moment to myself. 

It feels good to be back at work.  The interactions with travelers, residents and co-workers has done my spirit a world of good.  It is wonderful to feel needed and appreciated especially by those I help whether it be a simple thing of retrieving their mail when they have forgotten their mailbox key, filing a three inch stack of paper or taking a reservation for a 3 month stay at the resort.  To be needed, to be helpful, to serve one another.  After all, isn't that what humanity is all about? Isn't helping one another get through this journey we call life the thing to do?  

I was amazed that my brain retained and brought forth the things I needed in the short amount of time I had to "get back into the swing of things"  The brain is an amazing organ.  It tells us to breath, keeps the body safe by distinguishing danger, is able to recall good memories that bring smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts  but can also shut out painful memories.  The brain is the most complex part of the human body. This three-pound organ is the seat of intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement, and controller of behavior. 

Upon some research I learned some very fascinating facts about the brain.

1. Water. The brain is made up of about 75% water.
2. Blood. As with oxygen, your brain uses 20% of the blood circulating in your body.
3. No pain. There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain.
4. Fat. The human brain is the fattest organ in the body and may consists of at least 60% fat.
5. Size at birth. At birth, your brain was almost the same size as an adult brain and contained most of the brain cells for your whole life and stops growing at age 18.
6. Oxygen. Your brain uses 20% of the total oxygen in your body..
7. Unconsciousness. If your brain loses blood for 8 to 10 seconds, you will lose consciousness.
8. Speed. Information can be processed as slowly as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec, about 268 miles an hour.
9. Wattage. While awake, your brain generates between 10 and 23 watts of power–or enough energy to power a light bulb.
10. Tickles. You can’t tickle yourself because your brain distinguished between unexpected external touch and your own touch.
11. Gray matter. The brain’s gray matter is made up of neurons, which gather and transmit signals.
12. White matter. The white matter is made up of dendrites and axons, which create the network by which neurons send their signals.
13. Gray and white. Your brain is 60% white matter and 40% gray matter.
14. Neurons. Your brain consists of about 100 billion neurons.
15. New neurons. Humans continue to make new neurons throughout life in response to mental activity.

Now that we all know a little bit more about the brain... go out and learn one new thing today... create a few new neurons!

Thanks for stopping by to read my ramblings.  

Jo

“Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything.” 
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh