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Running on the Beach with Donna Summer
Tune up the joy centers of your brain
I never met Donna Summer or saw her perform. But I thank her for making me a happier — and better — runner.
It happened unexpectedly. There I was, ready to run along miles of beach, ear buds blasting with alternative rock, when Donna called out to me.
I should probably explain that I sometimes get a little lightheaded when I run on an empty stomach. I see and hear things that I’m sure others don’t. I laughingly call these tidings my third-eye moments and rather than ignore them, I let them drift about my brain like bits of broken dreams after a bad night’s sleep.
The message that day was clear. Donna wanted me to listen to her. I decided to play along. I found a Donna Summer Essentials list on my phone and queued up the songs.
My rational side labeled this decision as a dose of preventive medicine. People of a certain age (Donna and I are both Baby Boomers ) can develop anhedonia, which is better known as a loss of joy as the pleasure centers of the brain shrivel over time.
I decided that Donna would be my antidote. She was the queen of joy after all. Was it so offbeat to reason that her disco and pop-rock songs would exercise and help protect my brain as well as my body? I didn’t think…
