My four year old just entered an expressive new stage; imaginary friends. Seems as though she is very popular with these friends of the invisible sort, as she’s introduced me to about ten of them over the last week. A couple days ago I had to do everything in my power to keep from laughing as I watched her making “friends” with the knots in our dining room table. I had to be grateful though; they were very polite knots. As one knot said to the other, “Hello, my name is Evan, it’s very nice to meet you.”
At first I was a little worried thinking about how this might be a precursor to schizophrenia. As my mind wandered into the future I saw visions of critics blaming me, as the parent, for my daughter’s mental illness. But as I took a step back I realized what a special gift my four year old, and most I’m assuming, have at this age; the gift of imagination.
Children have the ability to turn a puddle into a vast ocean that takes days to cross. Or they can take the living room couch and turn it into a car, complete with front seat, back seat, and trunk. And give them a cardboard box and the possibilities are truly endless to what they can create and discover. But what happens to that imagination?
As we grow older and are faced with adult responsibilities, harsh lessons, and become more aware of reality, we lose the same kind of imagination that we all once possessed. As children, we’d fall asleep imagining all the fun things we can do the next day with the big sticks in the backyard and the old bucket in the basement. Then we’d wake up the very next day and make it happen. There was nothing holding us back. Now as adults, we daydream while stuck in traffic about our future, but just as quick as those visions come to us they are snatched away by our assumptions of what is possible.
Dr. Wayne Dyer teaches that imagination is the most important resource we have in achieving our dreams. How is it possible for us to attain something if we can’t first imagine it? Not very. We must first expand our imagination by letting our minds run wild. And then when we tap into what we really imagine for our futures, we need to believe that it is possible; question every corrupting thought you have.
And if your “imaginator” is still broke…seek out the help of a 4 year old!
Becky,
Sister of Soul
Soulspiration of the Week:
“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” ~ Gloria Steinman
At first I was a little worried thinking about how this might be a precursor to schizophrenia. As my mind wandered into the future I saw visions of critics blaming me, as the parent, for my daughter’s mental illness. But as I took a step back I realized what a special gift my four year old, and most I’m assuming, have at this age; the gift of imagination.
Children have the ability to turn a puddle into a vast ocean that takes days to cross. Or they can take the living room couch and turn it into a car, complete with front seat, back seat, and trunk. And give them a cardboard box and the possibilities are truly endless to what they can create and discover. But what happens to that imagination?
As we grow older and are faced with adult responsibilities, harsh lessons, and become more aware of reality, we lose the same kind of imagination that we all once possessed. As children, we’d fall asleep imagining all the fun things we can do the next day with the big sticks in the backyard and the old bucket in the basement. Then we’d wake up the very next day and make it happen. There was nothing holding us back. Now as adults, we daydream while stuck in traffic about our future, but just as quick as those visions come to us they are snatched away by our assumptions of what is possible.
Dr. Wayne Dyer teaches that imagination is the most important resource we have in achieving our dreams. How is it possible for us to attain something if we can’t first imagine it? Not very. We must first expand our imagination by letting our minds run wild. And then when we tap into what we really imagine for our futures, we need to believe that it is possible; question every corrupting thought you have.
And if your “imaginator” is still broke…seek out the help of a 4 year old!
Becky,
Sister of Soul
Soulspiration of the Week:
“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” ~ Gloria Steinman
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