BLOG 212—Hmm, I Forget What to Write

With my words, I hope to throw some oblique light upon your life.
I want to inspire you to see life in a different and/or better way.

*** To read past blog posts, go to >> kitsummers.com/blog/
*** If you are reading this through Facebook, check out my blog on my website.
*** Thanks, my wife, Beth, for editing and adding to each weekly blog.
*** I was hit by two different trucks, one involving a 37-day coma.
*** The happiness I am experiencing in my life is a marvelous thing!
*** I will have places to show you and tales to tell.
*** Secrets to unfold and good news!

BE TAKEN AWAY WITH ME
ON WONDERFUL ADVENTURES!

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TOPIC FOR THIS WEEK >>
A brain injury and memory.
They go hand-in-hand.

Who came by?
As I was recovering and in the hospital, at first, I did have a lot of trouble with short-term memory. I would forget when someone visited me in the hospital and other short-term events. I had to retrain my brain to remember what I was hearing, seeing, or doing.

Remember?
For this blog, each week, I have to think back and remember
what occurred during the week to add to the blog.
It is difficult, sometimes.
And, what did you do over the past week?

Ask yourself–
“How many things will I remember today?”
“How many things will I remember this week?”

Thousands!
Most people estimate, for memory, somewhere between 100 and 10,000 things go into our brain. Hard to believe; the answer is in the billions. This, of course, would be broken down to the tiniest of details.

Your Excellent Memory
Your memory is so excellent and runs so smoothly that you don’t even realize that every word you speak and hear is sorted for consideration, recognized precisely, recalled, and placed in its correct context in your brain, and all this in an instant! Yes, you are pretty amazing!

Unlimited
Most people have memory problems or just think they do. There are specific ways of improving the excellent memory you have. I hope to help you pull in memories from your brain. You’d be surprised; human memory can retain almost an unlimited assembly of information stretching backward for your lifetime.

It Takes Little Effort
For your memory, anyone can get by with little effort (and so many do, that’s a sad thing), but no one can stand out remembering without going a step further—finding techniques that work for them. And, each of us remembers things differently. Find the way that works for you.

Is it Important?
Many times, memory problems are problems of not concentrating enough on what you are trying to remember. People often don’t want to make that effort of concentration. Make it important enough to remember, and you will. For memory, we have to have a link, an association, or why would our mind want to try to remember? These can help with impression, repetition, and association.

Back Home
In the summer of 2012, I drove across the US. On this trip, one of the places I visited was Portland, Oregon. I was born in Portland and had not been there since I was seven. (I was 53 then, you do the math.) To return brought back fabulous memories; I was surprised at all that came back to me.

Your Memory
Most everyone has had the experience of hearing a song, smelling a smell, or seeing an image that brings back memories so vividly that they couldn’t believe it. This shows you that the brain is excellent at remembering. Unless you have problems, the brain sees and stores every detail throughout your lifetime, unless we have problems.

Memory Problems
I found out that memory problems are very much associated with brain injury. When I came out of the coma, I had trouble with short-term memory; long-term memories were still solid. When a person emerges from a coma, the mind is not functioning as it should for some time. I would forget much. What did I have for lunch today? (How about a memory test for you? What did you have for lunch—yesterday?)

My Journal
I kept a journal of who called or came by the hospital to see me. This was an idea I came up with to help me remember. I still have the notes I wrote, so hard to read my scribbles from that time; my hand control using a pen was also absent. It used to be automatic.

It’s Automatic
Along with short-term memory, after a severe head injury, the intuitive skills for memory (such as walking and driving) have often been impaired, forcing the person to revert to a more conscious, controlled form of information processing.

Concentrate
Concentration is affected; many people with brain injuries will find that they are unable to do many thinking things which before their injury were done in an almost effortless fashion with no thinking necessary. As I returned, I thought, I have done this before; why can’t I do it now?

The Memory Goes Away
With the problem of memory in a head-injured person, it is not necessarily the memory portion (or memory structure) of the brain that was damaged; most of the time, it’s the portion of the brain that does the information and memory processing. This often affects the whole mind and body; everything originates in the brain. There is so much involved in our ability to speak and think correctly; brain damage can complicate matters

After a Brain Injury
Some things people take for granted, such as attention and the speed of information processing, may be impaired. Along with this goes memory.

Move Ahead—NOW
At first, I had trouble with concentration. I also saw that I had to move quickly in my recovery if I was going to accomplish everything that I wanted to. There is so much that we can do and accomplish in our lives. I did not want this trouble with memory to hold me back from advancement. I found that the ability to concentrate well in everything was one of the big keys if we want to succeed. Yet, after damage to the brain, advancing in your life can be quite difficult. We must train ourselves to think in new ways and have hope.

Hope After Brain Damage
Memory impairments are frequently associated with conditions like
severe head injury (such as I had), cerebral tumor, brain surgery, intracranial infection, progressive degenerative disease, nutritional disorder, and cerebral vascular accident (boy, is that a scary list). I hope you don’t have to go through any of the lists. But, if you do, there is hope for you. With all the advancements in medicine, more and more people can live a better life after a significant brain change; they are making it work.

Make it Work For You
If I can remember right (ha), many (most) people have memory problems. There are specific ways of improving this fantastic memory that we all have. I hope to help you pull in those memories. You’d be surprised; human memory can retain almost complete information stretching backward for a lifetime.

No Effort
For memory, anyone can get by with not too much effort (and, too many do in this world), but no one can excel at remembering without going a step further—finding techniques that work for them. And, each of us remembers differently; find the way or combination of ways that work for you. Organize your mind.

Keep Organized
You may have noticed people with bad memories are often disorganized in their life and at home, too. If these people organized their life better, they would remember better. I always keep everything neat and clean and organized. That way, I will know where everything is.

You can do it!
It doesn’t take much work at all to keep your living environment clean and organized. If you don’t have it, develop this lifestyle for yourself, and you will get through life much better. Also, memory will come more accessible for you. Who?

What’s My Name?
Most people remember fewer than ten percent of the names of those they meet. We can remember all names and all people. So much memory trouble in people is simply a matter of concentration. So many people say, “I can’t remember names at all.” But, they don’t try at all! A person tells someone their name, and, no longer than thirteen seconds later, this person has forgotten it. But, they DIDN’T EVEN TRY!

Very Important
You must remember that a person’s name is their most important word. There are ways to remember names; I will cover a few ideas in this material. How about you? What’s “my” name? (Kit, remember?) A name is a name, connect with people in some way, and you are sure to remember their names. And, keep practicing—your memory can and will keep improving your whole life.

Your Excellent Memory
Our memory does decline some with age because of dying brain cells, but, we have so many brain cells it should not affect our memory. Memory is affected only if memory is not used diligently. Conversely, if our memory is used, it will continue to improve throughout our lifetime.

What’s the Reason?
You can improve your memory and reasoning skills significantly. First, you must decide you want to improve, which will take work after you decide to. There are many techniques for acquiring a better memory; learn and use as many techniques as possible. Eating right helps, too.

Eat Well
Your brain needs to be fed well, with plenty of water intake for better memory. Your brain needs excellent nutrition to function at the top level as a human organ. There is no “miracle brain food,” your good diet (and better thinking brain) should include fish, blueberries, nuts and seeds, beans, avocados, whole grains, and my favorite, dark chocolate.

No More Sugar
Life goes best if you avoid sugar and stimulants, which keep you on an energy roller-coaster throughout your day. Now, start eating right, remember better, and get smarter—think about it . . .

Who’s That Guy?
We meet so many. We forget so many. Remember, don’t think of the person as just “another” person. Observe the person’s looks to help remember a person’s name. Make them important enough to remember!

Thousands
So many thousands of things flow through our brains daily. To stop the flow and remember something, you have to make it a point to remember. Involve all of your senses as much as you can to improve:
Seeing
Hearing
Touching
Tasting
Smelling
The more you can involve all your senses in your memory image, the
more you will remember it.

Triggers
If you have to remember something later, such as putting something in your appointment book that you don’t have with you at the time, reinforce in your mind that as soon as you see the appointment book, it will trigger what you have to put in it. You can form triggers for anything and use anything you want to for a trigger. It’s difficult to remember a word. If we want to remember anything, we must associate it with some known or fixed item, calling upon our imagination throughout.

Keep Notes
As I was recovering, I always carried an extraordinary book. It contained a notepad, an address book, and a calendar, so I always knew my schedule. On the notepad, I keep two separate columns: write and call. I immediately wrote it down when I saw I had to call someone. Same when I had to write to someone. I referred to this often. Ideas come to us at a show, while driving, or showering at odd times. Now, this can be done with your phone.

Your “Note” Book
If you don’t have your notebook, write yourself a one-or-two word note on anything you have available—a piece of paper, a margin of newspaper, or an old scrap paper—anything. Then when you get time later, take out your short reminder of words or phrases and write a more intelligible complete reminder in a notebook that you always have to help you through life.

Your Phone
These days, all of this to help memory can be found on your phone. Learn to use your phone, it can benefit you, much.

Brain Push-Ups
If you don’t have your notebook, write yourself a one-or-two word note on anything you have available—a piece of paper, a margin of newspaper, or an old scrap paper—anything. Then when you get time later, take out your short reminder of words or phrases and write a more intelligible complete reminder in a notebook that you always have to help you through life.

It’s a Puzzle
Challenge your brain with games and puzzles. Keep your brain active
for your entire life. Your brain wants to play and needs exercise, teach
it, and advance your thinking.

You Must Care
All efforts to remember depend on a simple fact: we can almost always remember what we care about. Make this “person” more than just another “person.” Make this “thing” more than just another “thing.” If we find a way that we can care about something we want to remember,

The Internet!
You will find so many ways to help your memory on the internet. Get help; you can be better!

Kit
You will remember me, yes?

What new stories are you ready to write?

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WORDS TO INSPIRE YOU! >>
Inspirational quotes and motivational sayings have a unique ability to change the way we feel about life and can change our thinking.

I find them so interesting, challenging, and essential on our path to joy and happiness and finding ways to inspire ourselves and others.

Inspirational quotes and ideas give us a quick and timely burst of wisdom to get our focus back, offering the inspiration needed for the day or occasion.

I hope to inspire you with my words.
Words have power.

Are you accomplishing what you want before your eventual death?
At any age, you can (and should) make changes to make your life better.

How you think and feel about yourself, including your beliefs and expectations about what is possible, determines everything in your life. It all derives from your quality of thinking.

WHEN YOU IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR THINKING,
YOU CHANGE THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE—SOMETIMES INSTANTLY!

Just as positive words can make someone smile, and/or a well-timed amusing quote can make someone laugh, your thoughts react to the world in real-time. You have this control!

You have complete control over only one thing in the universe — Your Thinking — and that’s where motivational quotes come in!

To keep your motivation, you have to use each day as an opportunity to improve and get closer to your goals. It might sound like a lot of work—and with your busy schedule—next to impossible. But you can do it!

Self-talk is so essential—THINK RIGHT!
Motivational words, yes, they’re just words.
But they’re positive words; they will keep you on track.

EVEN IF YOU START LATE, ARE UNCERTAIN,
OR ARE DIFFERENT –
YOU CAN STILL FIND SUCCESS!
Don’t forget that you are only as young as the last time you changed your mind!
Keep your thoughts and self-talk fun and productive, and always reach for more advancement.
REMEMBER, VERY LITTLE IS NEEDED TO MAKE A GREAT LIFE.

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I HOPE THE FOLLOWING WORDS ABOUT MEMORY INSPIRE YOU >>

“Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” Haruki Murakami

“Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them.” Bob Dylan
“Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” Oscar Wilde

“I try to keep the happy memories. If that’s what you call selective memories, I’m good with that.” Nicole Williams

“To observe attentively is to remember distinctly.” Edgar Allan Poe

“Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things.” Cicero

“Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.” Barbara Kingsolver

“The town was paper, but the memories were not.” John Green

“Cakes are special. Every birthday and every celebration ends with something sweet, a cake, and people remember. It’s all about the memories.” Buddy Valastro

“It was an opportunity to honor our memories and to make room for new ones.” Jilly Pretzel

COMPOSE A NOBLE BOOK AND WRITE A BEST-SELLER.
YOU ARE AMAZING—PLAY YOUR PART!

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MY DAILY JOTTINGS >>
Each week goes by so quickly, don’t you think?
And time seems to be going faster all the time.
Do you keep track of what you do each day?
Do this for a few weeks, and you will see your time differently.

3/11—Our friends and neighbors, Frank and Lee Haskins, had us over today, along with our other friend, Nancy Baschnagel,  and her brother, Bob, who got together for an evening. Very nice.

Good snacks, a friendly time—very nice.

3/12—How sad; one of the bunnies died. He was the runt and stopped eating for some reason. Of course, this made Beth very sad, indeed.

Back to Costco for necessary items. I do like that store. Costco started in San Diego as Price Club (Price was someone’s last name.) The growth of this store is fantastic, I must say.

3/13—Hung around the house, on the phone with movie people. Writing of movie we are currently watching a program on YouTube called, Clarkson’s Farm. In this, a guy made a lot of money and bought a farm. Everything that could go wrong does—engaging how he makes things work, though.

3/14—I planted too soon! I did not expect cold temperatures to return; it will be freezing tonight. I will replant, and things will turn out alright. I am just so excited to get our garden going. So, how does your garden grow?

Along with minding the plants, we brought baby bunnies into the house for warmth. A sad thing to have a newly hatched frozen bunny.

3/15—For more than 20 years, I made my salsa and sold thousands. Did you see >> summerssalsa.com

Today, chef Kit was back in the kitchen. On the menu today, Salsa once again.
Here are some quotes I have received about my salsa >>

“The first week after we started carrying your salsa, sales were unprecedented. We sold out quickly and need more. Our customers love your salsa—I’m glad you contacted us.”
Terry Brett, Owner, Kimberton Whole Foods, Downingtown, Pennsylvania

“This is a first! I love salsa. In fact, so much so, mediocre salsa caused me to grow my own tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, and jalapenos to make my own. But I have never eaten a whole pint in one sitting. But I did tonight! The entire pint was right out of the tub (then I even drank the leftover juice)! Next to your salsa, everything else seems like catsup. You have done a great job coming up with a recipe for complex & enjoyable taste and great health (no salt!). You have something unique here. Next pint will be shared with a friend and a good chardonnay.”
Rich Carpenter, Narberth, Pennsylvania

“I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the sweet salsa you sold me Saturday night at Booth’s Corner Farmers Market. I passed by at first and thought the $5.00 a container cost was a little high, but after tasting a small sample, taking it home, and sharing it with a friend, I think it was worth every cent! Thanks again, and you have made a great product. And, what is so great about it is the fresh garden taste, unlike the salsa sold in the supermarket, regardless of brand or taste.”
Tom Griffiths, III, Springfield, Pennsylvania.

“I just wanted to say that your salsa is sensational! I tasted a sample at the Booths Corner Farmers Market, and I was instantly hooked. I will not buy supermarket salsa ever again. Summers Salsa is so fresh and healthy. It should be marketed to be sold at ALL supermarkets.” Patricia Ferrari, West Chester, PA

Have you tried making this tasty brew yet?
It’s time!

Now, make your own tasty Summers Salsa >>
Use a food processor to mix the following as you then put all into a 16-quart bowl >>
One 15-ounce can of corn drained of the juice. One 15-ounce can of black beans, drained of the juice
One large can of peaches drained of the juice
1 tbs of garlic salt
½ cup of diced garlic
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup of lime juice
½ cup of lemon juice
One bundle of cilantro
One jalapeno pepper
One big red onion
About 15 plum tomatoes
On peaches >>
One 29-ounce can of peaches, along with the maple syrup
In the food processor, slightly chop the peach into ¼” portions, blend with maple syrup, and add into the mix.
On onion >>
The food processor cut the large red onion into ¼” pieces.
On cilantro,>> One two-inch bundle of cilantro
Chop fresh cilantro by hand into about ¼” pieces and add to mix
On jalapeno pepper,>> Chop in the food processor one jalapeno pepper into fine pieces
On Plum Tomatoes >>
Cut 15 plum tomatoes in the food processor to ¼” pieces and mix them into the brew.

Keep mixing the brew off and on the entire time.

For hot salsa, leave out the maple syrup and peaches.

Add enough habanero Peppers and jalapeno peppers

for the heat you want.

Is it time to “make” things happen and live a fuller life?
“Make” a great week for yourself.

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YOUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK > >

When is the last time you read a book? Back in Jr High, I read “The Lord of the Rings”, and loved the read. Currently, I am rereading the series, a great read. I take it differently now that I am older, but it is still good. This week, your challenge is to read a book, from beginning to end.

Do something new, daily, then keep doing it for the rest of your life.

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NEXT BLOG

Hmm, we will both find out next week.
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THIS WEEK,
MAKE YOUR LIFE
SOMETHING
THAT YOU CAN
WRITE ABOUT!