Dare to imagine
After a visit with R. to our primary care physician last week from which we came home with a prescription to help R. sleep, I am suddenly finding I have a little more brain space these days. We've had several good nights, and because she has slept, her days have been significantly better as well. So this on top of the increased functioning from the seizure meds means that life is feeling significantly calmer and much more under control since perhaps the beginning of summer. With my own increased brain functioning, I realize that the entire summer was just plain hard which explains why I am finishing it feeling as though we were in survival mode for most of it. It's because we were, and I didn't quite realize what I toll it had taken on us. It feels good to be able to think again.
And what have I been thinking about? Imagination. More specifically, I have been thinking about how our society seems to have an imagination deficit. Think about it... imagination is key to so many things. How else can we put ourselves into someone else's shoes? How else can we envision a better world? How else can we take current circumstances and plot out where poor decisions could lead? The answer is we can't.
The definition of imagination that pops up when typed into Google is, "the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses." (You can tell I wrote this directly from the web page. I would have used an Oxford comma.) Imagination means forming ideas about things that are not there.
Think of how many instances of interpersonal conflict could be avoided if the parties had the ability to imagine where the other person was coming from. Think how much better we would treat each other if we were adept at imagining how it would feel to be on the receiving end of meanness or bullying. Think how we could change things if everyone was able to take their own personal actions and imagine what larger consequences those actions could have.
It is not just life for other people or broader society that could be changed, but individual lives as well. "We are in danger of losing a valuable narrative about our lives: that we are capable of blooming at any age and in any stage of our lives. Late bloomers are disappearing from the stories we tell about ourselves, as we become trapped by our cultural worship of the precociously talented, the youthful ambitious, and the extraordinarily smart -- the wunderkinds. This new ideal has become so pervasive, I [Rich Karlgaard] would argue, that is has chipped away at our feelings of worth and security. For some, it may have narrowed, or even eliminated, traditional pathways to success. It's robbed too many of us of a sense of control over our lives and our destinies.
Our mad drive for early achievement -- and the taint of failure that colors those of us who do not attain it -- has squandered our national talent and stunted our creativity. A healthy society needs all its people to realize they can bloom and rebloom, grow and succeed, throughout their lives." (from Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement by Rich Karlgaard, p. 44)
We have lost the ability to imagine a world where people are valuable and have much to offer through their entire lives. Imagination can help a person see possibilities. If you feel stuck, work on your imagination. Dare to imagine something different. It's really not too late.
And what have I been thinking about? Imagination. More specifically, I have been thinking about how our society seems to have an imagination deficit. Think about it... imagination is key to so many things. How else can we put ourselves into someone else's shoes? How else can we envision a better world? How else can we take current circumstances and plot out where poor decisions could lead? The answer is we can't.
The definition of imagination that pops up when typed into Google is, "the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses." (You can tell I wrote this directly from the web page. I would have used an Oxford comma.) Imagination means forming ideas about things that are not there.
Think of how many instances of interpersonal conflict could be avoided if the parties had the ability to imagine where the other person was coming from. Think how much better we would treat each other if we were adept at imagining how it would feel to be on the receiving end of meanness or bullying. Think how we could change things if everyone was able to take their own personal actions and imagine what larger consequences those actions could have.
It is not just life for other people or broader society that could be changed, but individual lives as well. "We are in danger of losing a valuable narrative about our lives: that we are capable of blooming at any age and in any stage of our lives. Late bloomers are disappearing from the stories we tell about ourselves, as we become trapped by our cultural worship of the precociously talented, the youthful ambitious, and the extraordinarily smart -- the wunderkinds. This new ideal has become so pervasive, I [Rich Karlgaard] would argue, that is has chipped away at our feelings of worth and security. For some, it may have narrowed, or even eliminated, traditional pathways to success. It's robbed too many of us of a sense of control over our lives and our destinies.
Our mad drive for early achievement -- and the taint of failure that colors those of us who do not attain it -- has squandered our national talent and stunted our creativity. A healthy society needs all its people to realize they can bloom and rebloom, grow and succeed, throughout their lives." (from Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement by Rich Karlgaard, p. 44)
We have lost the ability to imagine a world where people are valuable and have much to offer through their entire lives. Imagination can help a person see possibilities. If you feel stuck, work on your imagination. Dare to imagine something different. It's really not too late.
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