Being Purposeful and traveling are two of the most robust paths to keeping your brain firing and engaged. So think about this….
The world of travel is about to face an incredible opportunity — millions of Baby Boomers looking to fill their lives with purposeful, constructive, educational experiences that make them feel alive.
I am one of that army of educated people looking to serve my purpose, enjoy life, and engage more fully in the world but I have a head start….
Unlike many of my peers though, I found what excites me more than just about anything — being a Citizen Scientist on a volunteer vacation. I caught the bug on trip to Belize in November where my husband and I participated in a reef conservation project with ReefCI . We found this oh so life changing experience through an incredibly well run organization out of the UK POD Volunteer.
Both my husband and I work…a lot… and lead really busy lives so when we found a way to really contribute to the scientific body of knowledge while traveling AND that travel fit into the limited spaces of time we could take away from work, we were thrilled. Combine that with something we love — scuba diving — and we had a recipe for something life changing. And that it did….
We are currently planning our next adventure. It might be an archeological dig or could be a turtle preservation project or we may be working to restore a habitat somewhere cool but it will be something purposeful and engage our minds on a whole new level — up the challenge and keep our brains firing and re-wiring!
Find something you love — something you are passionate about — and see if you can find a trip. Better yet, tell me what you love and are passionate about and let’s explore together. I plan to use both volunteer vacations and citizen science to maximize my brain health and amplify the quality of my life.
Originally published on Ruth Curran’s blog, Cranium Crunches
All photos courtesy Ruth Curran
Ruth Curran
Ruth's passion and area of intense study is the connection between the brain and daily functioning. Ruth writes about brain healthy living and created a series of a photo-based thinking puzzles, games, and Apps – www.craniumcrunches.com. Ruth’s primary focus is on using games and “play” to inspire players to imagine, use strategies, and focus as a path to better thinking, better functioning, and better quality of life. Ruth believes that everyone - no matter the stage of life - has the power to harness and use neuroplasticity to live a richer, deeper, and more fully engaged life. Instagram: captcruncher
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