Chapter 79.7: Tending to Your Magic Garden

With the financial world coming apart at the seams and the economy fibrillating like a bad heart, I found this blog post at the Skoll Foundation's site timely and somewhat interesting. It's a how-to piece for tending to your "social network."

Though clearly not among the top stories in terms of importance, the emergence of online social networks (see Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) as key tools for advancing oneself has been a trend of 2008 — and no, I don't have a Facebook or MySpace page, though I have real-life friends who would like me to have one. But the Skoll item offers a few really good points that shouldn't be forgotten, which I've put into my words rather than theirs: Meet people in real life; give, don't simply receive; keep connected; keep meeting new people; don't wait to start; invest in yourself.

That last one sounds way too "new agey" for my tastes, but it's not a bad recommendation. So, all you financial industry people out there, I wish you luck. We need you to succeed.

Chapter 76.6: Remembering Old Friends

I've been blessed with an abundance of friends -- though I'm not always the best at showing my appreciation of their positive influence in my life. It turns out that my friends may be helping me in ways I'd never dreamed of before. Apparently, having more friends helps a person maintain a strong memory longer. Not only that, but my having graduated college helps me in that regard too, though the study also suggests that I should avoid the fatty foods and cholesterol. Damn, and I was really looking forward to eating monkey brains!

The study was conducted over six years, which may mean little, I don't really know, though it seems to suggest a bit more serious research than something that's only studying effects over a 12-18 month period. Surely, the impact of good friends cannot be measured over so short a period.

While it is unclear how social isolation and disconnected from others could affect memory loss, the implication is that seniors should continue to engage in social activities and increase the number of people in their social network. I can see it now: Senior Facebook! [Full disclosure, I do not have a Facebook page]

To be serious for a moment, these types of studies could be incredibly important as we the largest generation enter their senior years. Indeed, many of them don't even see their sixties as being old -- and at this point they're probably right. The fact remains, however, that their health is more likely to deteriorate than improve as they get older, and if engaging in more social interactions with people, developing more friendships with people, will help as life moves inexorably forward, then we should all do our best to help.

So my advice is call your parents regulary. See if they're spending time with their neighbors, their church group, their bridge club, at the nudist beach down the shore, whatever. It will help their memories, and they'll have reason to remember. Encourage them to make new friends and keep the old. They're all gold.