Creative Imaginings
“Imagination is absolutely critical to the quality of our lives…it gives us the opportunity to envision new possibilities – it is an essential launchpad for making our hopes come true.” Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
“Imagination is absolutely critical to the quality of our lives…it gives us the opportunity to envision new possibilities – it is an essential launchpad for making our hopes come true. It fires our creativity, relieves our boredom, alleviates our pain, enhances our pleasure, and enriches our most intimate relationships.” Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
I have had this thought that for these times, imagination and creativity will be the making of us in many ways. I think that imagining new possibilities for right now and the future is critical to how we will emerge from the other side of this pandemic in our families, relationships and workplaces.
Children have a lot to teach us. Their play is imagining possibilities, they thrive in this space! If you need a dose of inspiration, get on the level of a child and play for a while. (Note: ask permission, and when you get it, don’t be adulty and take charge! #tipsfortheplayground #playnice)
What is the play space in your head like right now? What ideas are formulating that give you flashes of inspiration and joy? It doesn’t matter if they are not possible, yet. It just matters that you give them space to breathe, maybe grow and one day even flourish.
Write your creative imaginings down, draw them, and make a spreadsheet of them. Whatever your data language is, just get it down on paper. Do something to represent it concretely.
Have you forgotten or buried or even studiously ignored past hopes? Maybe it’s time to take them out and dust them off. Or, lay them to rest forever so that something better can emerge.
Just take one step and the next step will come.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a lot from many people, 3 million jobs from South Africans is just one example. My hope is in the creative imagination of our nation to rise above bitterness, loss and despair to imagine something completely new and glorious.
