Imagine

There is no life I know; To compare with pure imagination

Living there you'll be free; If you truly wish to be
— Anthony Newley / Leslie Bricusse

Imagination is "the ability to form a picture in our minds of something that we have not seen or experienced; the ability to think of new things." As children, there are many things we have not yet seen, and we are graced with the ability to form vivid realities in our minds. Balloons become animals, cars fly, and Willy Wonka’s job at the chocolate factory is a totally valid and possible profession.

As adults, our imagination doesn’t reach as far. Our ability to generate and picture amazing new things is often hindered by what we are told is “practical,” “possible” and  “impossible.” We are chastised and punished for “wasting time” when we creatively play with the infinite-everything, and we are rewarded and for being the “best” at the status quo.To say that this impacts us is an understatement. 

Where would humanity be if folks like Harriet Tubman, Ruth Bater Ginsberg, Miss Major, Alok Vaid-Menon, Nikola Tesla, or Alan Turing had settled into the status quo?! 

When we set foot on the path of possibility using curiosity as our compass, we may not find EXACTLY what we imagined, but it IS certain that new possibilities we never could have fathomed WILL come to light. 

Imagine invites us to lay on our backs, look up,  and allow the stories of the sky to unfold. 

Imagine invites us to put down our phones and give our most precious gift - our attention - to the here and now. 

Imagine invites us to open to the magic in the mundane, the simple yet profound messages happening all around us when we REALLY look, are deeply present, and allow.

Imagine reinforces that time spent relaxing our minds, staring off into the “nothing”.....I mean… infinite- everything... IS time well spent. It is necessary in fact, to quiet the chaos enough to begin to think of new things. When we do not offer ourselves this gift, we can become too saturated with information and the influence of others to connect with our own imagination, and “reality” is created for us. 

When you can, I invite you to find a ripple in water - in the river, your drinking glass, that rain puddle, in the shower or while doing dishes. Hang out with it for 30 seconds, heck, give it a whole minute. Who knows? It may just be the inhale-inspiration we need to breathe life into a reality of our creation. 

Alice laughed. “There’s bout no use trying,” she said: “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

— Lewis Carroll