If I Only Had A Brain

I'm shocked that no one in our family included The Flaming Lips' CD on their Christmas list! Never heard of them? One song they have recorded may sound a little familiar: If I Only Had a Brain. That's right, the song from The Wizard of Oz. The song is part of the soundtrack for the video game Stubbs the Zombie. Really...I read it somewhere. I don't know what, who, where, when or especially the why in this bit of trivia.

After reading last week's Grace Notes, some of you expressed concern about my belief in "kicking the bucket". While I admit a part of me has been very anxious, my fear of leaving you was not my intent in writing. I was trying to convince myself that in spite of the worry over lab results, goals can still be achieved. Nor should I postpone dreaming just because the IRS believes they rule the world! Here's this week's message from the October 2008 Conference by Pres. Uchtdorf. "Hope...is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear." (Ensign, November 2008, page 22).

However, to be truthful, in my anxiousness last week, I did place a call to Dr. Ingersoll. I thought it might be helpful to get a second opinion on the tumor marker levels. She explained that it was too early to panic and saw no need for concern at this point in time. In a somewhat stern, yet tender manner, she advised to "start thinking with the right side of my brain." (Actually, Dr. Ingersoll is one of the kindest, most thoughtful and careful physicians I've had to deal with. In her own compassionate way, she was helping me deal with my fears. Thank you, Dr. Ingersoll!).

I was totally clueless as to what she meant by her instructions. I have a hard time just using 5% of my entire brain, let alone trying to maximize one side or the other! But, her suggestion sounded positive, so I did a little research. We love the "lefties" in our family. They have lived a hard life. For years they have had to deal with right handed scissors, right handed ironing boards and right handed desks in school. We drive on the right side of the road (but on the left side of the car...why?) We raise our right hand to promise to tell the whole truth and nothing but. We don't wear CTL rings! (I'll let you think about that one.) If we're running late, we explain we'll be right home. The tax returns I prepare have to be right or the IRS won't be happy. Some of us dream of Mr. Right. Even the scriptures suggest we might want to live in such a way as to be found on the right hand of God. So the right side of our brains must have special significance.

According to a Google site, here are just a few characteristics of right-brained people.

• Prefer rock music
• Prefer visual instructions with examples
• Good at sports and art
• Cat lovers
• Enjoy clowning around
• Likes to read fantasy and mystery stories
• Good at geometry
• Occasionally absent minded
• Thinks better when lying down
• Very spontaneous and unpredictable
• Dreamer and philosopher

Now, who put that list together? I don't believe it...nope, not a word. If it was true, left brain people must love Gregorian Chant music and migratory birds; is lousy at telling jokes; likes to read the encyclopedia; their favorite school subject is library study hall...basically leads a dull life. Okay, that is believable, because is sounds very much like me. Scientists and psychologists agree that all healthy human beings use both sides of their brain to function in the real world. We need a little left and we need a little right to keep balanced.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic movie. It provides an insightful lesson on human characteristics and possibilities. How could you NOT fall in love with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and especially the Lion? But when I was a little girl, I didn't like to watch the movie. The wicked witch of the West scared me. I still cringe when I visualize her melting away. So even to this day, I refrain from viewing the movie when it replays on television. Wait a minute! Maybe that's the problem Dr. Ingersoll saw in me. Why let the fear of the melting witch ruin the journey along the Yellow Brick Road? Why let one side of my feeling and thinking (the left side of logic and anxiousness) hinder me from feeling and thinking something better (the right side of imagination and hope)?

At first the Scarecrow didn't realize he had a brain. Yet he arrived at the best solutions facing the quartet of travelers on their journey. He must have been using the left side of his "straw" matter in making those decisions. But the right side was used in his memorable song:

I could wile away the hours, Conferrin' with the flowers, Consultin' with the rain;

And my head I'd be scratchin', while my thoughts were busy hatchin', If I only had a brain.

I would not be just a nuffin', my head all full of stuffin', my heart all full of pain;

I would dance and be merry, Life would be a ding-a derry, If I only had a brain.

God gave us two sides, one to answer the perplexing equations of the universe and another side to confer with flowers and rain; a brain that instructs our feet to dance, our lips to sing, and our heart to make life ding-a-derry. That's what Dr. Ingersoll meant!