Imagination
is a wonderful thing. I can’t imagine a world without it – and in a world
without it, I couldn't imagine anything at all. So, I find it strange that
imagination is so often labeled as a childish thing; something we’re supposed to grow out of.
I think
that a lot of people never stop to think about how much we actually rely on
imagination. The truth is, we would have nothing
without it. We would be hunters/gatherers living in caves without tools –
because the first tool was just a thing that someone imagined could be used for
something else. Homes, too, are a product of imagination. Someone imagined a
way to create their own shelter, then they built it. I don’t even need to
mention all the technology we rely on.
Even our
languages – spoken and written – came from imagination. Someone imagined a
certain combination of sounds could paint a picture of a person, place, thing,
or action. Then someone did the same thing with squiggles in the dirt or paint
on a cave wall. What creative people they were!
I’ll admit
there is a down-side to imagination, and that’s fear. We can imagine all kinds
of terrible things far worse than what is actually out there. As an example,
the other night I turned out the light before going to bed, but instead of
getting straight into bed like I usually do, I crouched down beside the bed and
was as silent as possible. Colleen, who was already in bed, knowing that I was
in the room somewhere and that I enjoy scaring her periodically, was terrified.
She was sure I was going to jump out at her, although I told her later (and got
swatted for it) that I had no intention of doing so because I knew her
imagination could scare her far more than I could.
But that’s
one negative point, and it actually branches into a positive one –
entertainment! What would life be without entertainment and how could
entertainment exist without imagination? Everything from the simplest game to
books and movies required imagination to create. So unless someone does nothing
but eat, sleep and work, their lives rely on imagination in some way.
All things
considered, I think that imagination is the most valuable thing we have.
Imagine that. If imagination is childish, then I’m perfectly happy to stay a
child forever. A world without imagination is a world that shouldn't exist.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
Hope also depends on imagination... we imagine something being better than it is right now. We need hope to survive and to thrive, so that means we need imagination to survive and to thrive. It's quite possible that we might die without imagination.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Louise! Empathy is another one. I always tell everyone that empathy relies on imagination. Being able to open your mind to a position or circumstance of another human being even if it is nothing like what you've experienced yourself.
ReplyDeleteYou may have seen this already... but it's a talk about our education system and how it kills divergent thinking. Basically, that we're born with infinite imagination and we're discouraged from using it when we're punished for "mistakes" and expected to fit a standardized system. This gentlemen also has some interesting TED talks if you like the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U