What’s life without scope for imagination?
If imagination can make us happy, let’s set it wild and free
‘Anne with an E’ of Green Gables is a character every creative girl identifies with. She has stolen the hearts and imaginations of many 11 year olds. As children, we imagined a lot of things, a world that was strewn with unlimited possibilities like Anne.
“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive — it’s such an interesting world.
It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?” quips Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne Shirley in the 1908 novel.
Sometimes I imagine I never grew beyond 14 years, like Peter Pan. We can fly to a distant magic land, a parallel world where all our friends and family love and cherish us just the way we desire.
When we were little kids, we knew some of our friends who lied actively. Why, even today, we know a few acquaintances who make elaborate stories of daily life. It’s said that in small children, lying is a presentation of vivid imaginations
In an ideal world, we all would trust each other and care about each other, and that’s what fundamentally makes for a better life.
When our friends do not behave the way we expect or hope they would, we can blur the line between reality and imagination and continue enjoying our relations.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world,” said Albert Einstein. All you need is to think one happy thought and it soars.
An inner eye?
What if you never possessed an inner eye?
Have you imagined that there are people who actually cannot create pictures in their minds? ‘Aphantasia’ is a medical condition and the term is used to delineate a rare condition in which people literally cannot visualise mental images.
It’s likely that the condition known as Aphantasia has been around forever, but it wasn’t identified until the 1880s, and it wasn’t technically named until 2015.
Human beings generally tend to steer towards reality as they step into adulthood. But who cut back the wings of our vision? We remained innocent until a wicked aunt came and prodded us with a sarcastic remark about any of our major or minor skills.
Oh well! We all know many people who don’t appreciate any of the good things in life, like a friend’s success or laughter. They are good at finding defects. They pass caustic comments that milk away the joy out of our tiny starry moments.
I marvel about the imagery in the minds of the Big Ticket participants on the forenoon of the draw date. They would be thrilled imagining the scenarios of various dream runs. One day, every month, they might actually smile away an entire morning. With fortune, if they win, it’s an imagination come true moment!
Life stirred with imagination
When we were little kids, we knew some of our friends who lied actively. Why, even today, we know a few acquaintances who make elaborate stories of daily life. It’s said that in small children, lying is a presentation of vivid imaginations.
All the aspiring/established writers and storytellers must have experienced frequent bouts of daydreaming to a fault. Writers, artists, moviemakers and sculptors channelled the flowering images in their minds to great works of art.
The best-selling book called Secret by Rhonda Byrne talks about the ways to utilise the ‘Law of attraction’ to get what you desire in life.
She vouches for manifesting our dreams by actively visualising everything we wished for. On that note, we can imagine ourselves wealthier, healthier, and luckier.
Who does not want a beautiful dream house, a soaring career, a flourishing financial status and a happy content family? If imagination can make us happy, let’s set it wild and free.
If we cannot have what we really want in our reality, then at least let’s imagine it in our imagination. Who knows, our fertile imaginations may follow the pattern of “thoughts can become things.”
Let’s release our inner child to imagine!
Feby Imthias is a freelance writer based in Abu Dhabi. Twitter: @Feby_Imthias