Imagine That..!!

As an adult, we often use our imagination for some structured purpose. Maybe laid out by a superior at work, we are told to create something within certain set parameters. When we focus on what is right in front of us, what has been laid out for us- too often we narrow our minds and ourselves. As an adult, I attended school for improvisation for many years. I was taught different ways to use my imagination. One of the best lessons I learned was that you didn’t have to start small or safe. If the scene had me living in an extravagant house, I wouldn’t refer to diamonds I owned, but rather the 60 ft marble fountain carved in the shape of the Lock Ness Monster. And I knew I could only keep heightening the scene from there.. There is an expression, the sky’s the limit. But that certainly is not true. We know this. Even being encouraged to reach for the stars is still, somewhat limiting.

To quote Galileo, “The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else to do in the universe.”

Your imagination lives on the scale of a universe. It peers beyond what is present in our lives. It is an echo of what could be true in our future. We all deal with stress, with sadness, with fear, sometimes asking- how will we ever get out from where we are now? That’s when we really need to hear that echo. That wisdom that comes from what we imagine for ourselves. Not to challenge us, but remind us that the power of our imagination is limitless- and that power- is ours whenever we need it.

Aristotle once said, “Contemplation is the highest form of activity.” And that is what I am speaking to you about today, about using the invaluable gift of your imagination. A gift that is outrageously abundant.

How would you like to be in your life? For myself, I have career aspirations. I want success working in the field of psychology. Now, there are many other things that I may want to do, but that just feels natural, for me. What feels natural for you? What are things you want that don’t feel natural? There’s an important difference there. And this want I have serves my life. It does not condemn others or wish others harm. This is mine.. Morihei Ueshiba, founder of the martial art of a-key-dow said, “As soon as you concern yourself with the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with and criticizing others weaken and defeat you.”

Close your eyes and imagine how you want to be. What are you wearing? What do you look like? What surrounds you- objects, a person, an animal?  Imagine yourself there. How do you feel? Now,  open your eyes. Your imagination will never fail you.  Whenever you need it- go to that feeling of happiness. Connect to that echo. Feel that wisdom. That success that you’ve already created for yourself.

Your imagination will never fail you or cheat you. It doesn’t care if when you contemplate, when you are creating- you’re 3, 30 or 60. It fits perfectly into the body of a child, as well as an adult.  Our imagination is a gift. We are gifting ourselves to use it. “To be an altruist, you must first be an egoist”, said George Gurdjieff. In other words, providing for ourselves can then enable us to provide for others.

Some of the largest pieces of life are found in our imagination. When Isaac Newton discovered and named “gravity”, he could not touch it nor hear it. He saw it only in his mind, knowing what he experienced and felt. Yet, this one invisible force rules all that we can see so clearly with our eyes wide open. The invisible can be powerful and this power can be visible.

As children, our imagination is a lucid, luminous lightning bolt. It’s blaze wakes us up to the world. As a child, I used my imagination often. There were many days that I would make ice cream with my bike. It was something that lots of kids did on streets around where I lived. You flip your bike over, get ingredients from the yard- ice cream! Recently, I was over at my brother’s house. We were standing over a used bike that he had bought. It was being looked at for any necessary repairs and, because of this, it was flipped over.  My brother turned to me and asked me “Sarah, you wanna make some ice cream?” And I replied, “yes, I absolutely do.”

We need to make our intentions clear. If you pretend to be who you’re not, you will connect to things that don’t benefit you. We need to stop pining for ourselves. It is essential to our well-being that we don’t always wait for others to tell us what they see in us. To quote Steve Jobs, “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” When you are just being yourself, you are ingeniously confessing the truth. So, exercise your rights to seek splendors in thought and stare into the abyss of happiness. And remember- you’re imagination fits you perfectly because you are an absolutely perfect fit for your life.