BEYOND, the inaugural event of the Tucson Trails Tribute Fund, has a tag line stating “commemorate – celebrate – commit.” BEYOND is a very ambitious one-day “community-wide event to commemorate the anniversary of January 8th, celebrate the spirit of togetherness we felt in the days and months afterward, and re-commit ourselves to working together to build a stronger community every day.”

Beginning with a health and wellness fair at Tucson Medical Center  on Saturday, January 7 at 7:15 a.m. and continuing throughout the day at various locations around town, you will have scores of events to chose from until the closing ceremony at Kino Stadium. The stadium opens at 4:00 pm. and will feature music, choirs, speakers, and special LED candles to “honor and commemorate the sharing of community and our loss.”

The emphasis is on health, fitness, family and community on this day. Events include hikes and strolls at the Davidson Canyon Gabe Zimmerman Memorial Trailhead, Sabino Canyon, and Colossal Cave; a silent guided yoga practice hosted by the girl Scouts, a 5-mile social run and much more.

The Odyssey Storytelling Story Cart will be on hand at the BEYOND Festival Main Event at Reid Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. collecting stories about memories from the day of the January 8th shooting and our process of healing and moving on as a community.

Activities and educational opportunities at Reid Park include the Outdoor Experience Activity Course, classes in Zumba & Tai-Chi, and Pima County’s Bicycle Obstacle Course. Ben’s Bells, Beads of Courage, the Story Cart from Odyssey Storytelling and  Stories that Soar will be there along with the Tucson High Jovert Steal Drum Band. There’s an impressive list of community partners, way too many to mention here.

We’ve all been watching the evolution of the government’s attempt to tell us the healthiest way to eat for a while now. They use graphics to tell us the story of what foods we should consume. Using a picture story is a way to reach non-literate people as well as a more appealing tactic than a lecture.

Here’s the original official United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food pyramid from 1992

According to Wikipedia, “It was updated in 2005 with colorful vertical wedges replacing the horizontal sections and renamed MyPyramid. MyPyramid was often displayed with the food images absent, creating a more abstract design.”

I love the figure running up the stairs to get to the top. If it were the older version, it would be chasing after the fats, oils and sweets (like most of us.) You can see how stories emerge from the visuals.

Take this charming illustration from The Harvard School of Public Health

I was wondering what the feet at the bottom were supposed to represent until I read their tips for following the Healthy Eating Pyramid and then I realized that exercise is the biggest component. The items floating on the upper left corner indicate taking vitamins and drinking booze.  The website says that “moderate drinking for many people can have real health benefits, but it’s not for everyone. Those who don’t drink shouldn’t feel that they need to start.”

The Mayo Clinic has taken a stance to embrace them all and gives you options at their website.  You can click on an interactive pyramid to get a choice of Asian, Mediterranean, Mayo Clinic, Vegetarian and Latin American diets plus the new My Plate from the USDA

Now, the USDA doesn’t want you to get confused so they’ve simplified the chart down to a visual we can all understand; a divided plate. No stairs, no pictures of beautiful fresh veggies and blood dripping meat. Just the facts, unembellished, straightforward and, in my opinion, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Did you know that there was a Mind-Alert Award presented by The American Society on Aging (ASA) and the MetLife Foundation?

According to Aging Today, the program “recognizes replicable research-based programs, products or tools that promote cognitive fitness in later life in three categories: educational programs that enhance mental fitness for older adults in the general population, programs designed for cognitively impaired elders and lifelong learning programs with an implicit element of mental fitness.”

One winner was TimeSlips, “a creative storytelling method that helps people with dementia reaffirm their humanity and connect with staff, family and friends.” TimeSlips encourages people to cultivate their imaginations and it has been found to improve verbal skills.  The stories that emerge ”are rich in humor and poetic images, and provide a window into the experience of living with dementia.”

Lifehacker lists the Top Ten Tricks and Tools to Exercise and Better Your Brain and number five is Tell Yourself Stories.

First of all, it makes things easier to remember because it puts what you want to remember in a more compelling framework. It gives you a chance to focus on important details and associate emotion with what you’re trying to remember. Even if you’re not telling yourself a story to help retain the information, you’ll still improve your memory just by telling stories in general.

About.com even has a long list of tips for telling stories To Strengthen Relationships and Exercise Your Brain (see details at their website):