What role does imagination play in your life and career? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“Reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are.”
“Worry is just imagination used in an unproductive way.”
—Tzvi Freeman, Canadian Rabbi and author
Image from Unsplash by Priscilla Du Preez
A Brief History of the Future is a unique six-part PBS documentary series about our futures and how we can re-imagine them, hosted by renowned futurist Ari Wallach.
The series invites viewers on a journey around the world that is filled with discovery, hope, and possibility about where we find ourselves today — and what could come next.
It challenges us and the dystopian framework embraced by popular culture by offering a refreshing and uplifting take on the future.
EXERCISE:
Please watch this series and join the wide range of thinkers, scientists, developers, and storytellers with your own uplifting and positive vision of what’s possible for our future.
Image from Unsplash by Shantung Kulkarni
Our minds are marvelous. In a split second we can use our imagination to go anywhere and do anything.
By working at the speed of light and beyond, we can use mental worm holes and folds in spacetime to explore our limitless inner and outer worlds.
Another handy trick is our ability to go back in time or into the future whenever we wish.
Although daydreaming about the future and how our life may unfold is common, trips down memory lane seem to be even more prominent, since these roads have already been traveled.
Unfortunately, all this mental leaping can have us miss the very moments that make up these memories we hope to reflect upon down the road.
EXERCISE:
How much of your life do you spend residing in the past?
What lessons have you learned to make sure you prioritize opening the gifts of the present?
Image from Unsplash by Michelle Cassar
Imagine that you are a new Marvel superhero that can do anything and go anywhere in an instant.
What special powers would you demonstrate and how would you share them with your communities and the world?
How did this journey into your imagination feel? To what degree did your notice a new level of freedom and a lifting up of your spirits?
How did you feel when you shifted back from your right brain to your left to get on with your day?
In what ways might you have experienced a bit of heaviness from your current responsibilities and obligations?
Make some time today to exercise your imagination.
What could you do and where might you go as this practice spills over into some of your typical daily activities?
Image from Amazon
Thoreau lived for two years, two months, and two days by Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.
His writing about his time there became a model of deliberate and ethical living. His words and deeds continue to inspire millions around the world who seek solutions to critical environmental and social challenges.
Gandhi’s work in India, Tolstoy’s philosophies in Russia, and Martin Luther King Jr’s civil rights stand in the United States are just a few notable individuals inspired by his work.
How and where in your personal and professional communities can and will you embrace and generously offer your own imaginings to create a more beautiful world?
Image from Unsplash by Dimitry Anikin
John Lennon’s “Imagine” is one of his best written and most powerful songs. Consider and contemplate the lyrics relative to today’s quote:
Imagine there’s no heaven / It’s easy if you try / No hell below us / Above us, only sky / Imagine all the people / Livin’ for today…
Imagine there’s no countries / It isn’t hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion, too / Imagine all the people / Livin’ life in peace…
You may say I’m a dreamer / But I’m not the only one / I hope someday you’ll join us / And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions / I wonder if you can / No need for greed or hunger / A brotherhood of man / Imagine all the people / Sharing all the world…
You may say I’m a dreamer / But I’m not the only one / I hope someday you’ll join us / And the world will live as one.
What peaceful thoughts and actions can and will you bring into your world today? How can and will you influence others in your communities to join us so the world will live as one. CLICK HERE to see the video and hear the song.
Image from Unsplash by Ethan Sykes
These days, many people have been pulled to the dark side of imagination. Instead of using our wonderful imagination for creative and positive purposes, we easily slip into worry.
Imagine you are a special kind of meteorologist. You can easily report on inclement weather and potential storms, but you can also change the forecast to sunnier skies with your power of positive intentions and optimism.
Where is your imagination causing you to worry about future events in unproductive ways?
How can and will you bring greater creativity and a positive bias to your thinking when you notice the clouds of worry headed your way?
Image from Unsplash by Jeshoots.com
One of my daily rituals is to read the Word of the Day provided by Merriam-Webster. You can subscribe by email at Merriam-Webster.com.
The word of the day on which I wrote this post was vicarious. It pertains to today’s quote in that we gain a particular experience in our imagination through the feeling and actions of another person.
Consider all the secondhand and surrogate experiences we take in through television, movies, sporting events, social media, and of course, good old gossip.
How does ingesting vicarious stories and experiences truly contribute positively to your world, beyond the distracting, entertainment value?
How and in what ways can and will you live, moving forward, to become far more of the main character of your own life story?
Photo by Laëtitia Buscaylet on Unsplash
My mother, Rose, was the most avid reader I’ve ever known. As a boy, I would frequently go with her to the library where, every three weeks, she would pick a new batch of 12 books. She devoured them every evening after dinner.
I recall her frustration on one occasion, in that she could not find, in our small local library, enough books of interest that she had not already read.
Although she was never a world traveler or college graduate, she took countless trips with her vivid imagination – wherever her written portals to adventure would take her.
Consider visiting your local library or bookstore to pick up a book that will take you on a great adventure, from the comfort of your favorite chair.
Image from WDWlive
IMAGINATION is a pavilion on the western side of Epcot’s “Future World.”
At one time, a playful purple dragon named Figment was the IMAGINATION host, taking visitors on a happy and whimsical ride.
What if there were a “Worry Pavilion”? What would you name the host character? What might the ride through that pavilion entail? Unfortunately, many of us take a ride through the Worry Pavilion every day, living lives that are anything but whimsical.
How can and will you channel your imagination muscle to have a far more joyful ride?