Just Imagine
(or what was I thinking?)
‘Your imagination reaches unprecedented heights’, is what I was told since I was a kid. Ain’t that the truth.
‘Imagination is the ability to produce and simulate novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. It is also described as the forming of experiences in one’s mind, which can be re-creations of past experiences such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or they can be completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes’. Source: Wikipedia
At any given moment in life, whether it’s a way to escape, or a real life choice to be made, my imagination would go into overdrive and starts envisioning all kinds of ways the ‘script of my life’ would play out. The endless possibilities! Of course the ones with the best outcomes would be preferred, but do they ever happen…
My brain knows the difference between anticipation and a fairytale, still, (day-) dreaming is such a happy activity and crossing the line is all too easy 😂 Once it starts I will be Going Places, if only in my mind. Being at home and in lockdown most of the time only fuels my imagination further, until it reaches the mentioned heights. I dunno, there seems to be no limit to it and even when I enter the realm of ridiculousness, it only gets more interesting. I am and always will be, a dreamer, in every sense of the word. That novel will be written at one point.
I think in clear images. Tell me something, anything, and images will present themselves as if I’m watching a slide show, with often very vivid scenes. And yes, that can be nauseating at times, but also really hilarious, when my mind conjures things, nobody else around me seems to grasp. Explains either the horror, or that stupid grin on my face, just sayin. I can’t turn it off, so it does tickle my imagination.
‘Visual thinking, also called visual/spatial learning or picture thinking is the phenomenon of thinking through visual processing. Visual thinking has been described as seeing words as a series of pictures. It is common in approximately 60–65% of the general population. “Real picture thinkers”, those who use visual thinking almost to the exclusion of other kinds of thinking, make up a smaller percentage of the population’. Source: Wikipedia
When I started this blog, I tried to look at it as a personal project and not to have too high expectations. Basically, the writing would not only satisfy a dream, but the therapeutically side effect was a definite bonus 🤐 But I can’t say I didn’t dream about it becoming a success, I mean, not gonna lie lol. We would be the first to tell someone to dare to dream BIG, why not, it’s not that you’ve got anything to lose anyway. If even a fraction of those dreams would come true, how happy would that make you?
I feel like if there would be any time in our lives to chase some of your dreams, it could be now. Though there might be limitations – but aren’t there always? – if you do have time to finally prepare for that one thing you’ve always wanted to do, why not now? I know, money can be a real downer, but we’ve learned early in our marriage, not to let money – read: the lack of it – keep us from doing what we are called to do. Again, easier said than done, but why not defy ‘reality’ ? Be inventive – use your imagination, oh dear – and find ways to reach that goal, call in help if needed.
My imagination might not always bring me what is eventually called reality, but it gives me the possibility to look beyond that. I do believe that the reality we can see is nothing compared to the one we cannot see. O dear, losing my marbles am I 😂 You ever heard of ‘speaking something into existence’? No? It’s no secret spell, people also call it ‘visualizing’. You might need some imagination to actually do that, but a lot of people know for a fact this works. Of course a little faith won’t hurt either.
Visualize your dream, you can take it as far as you like. Some people make whole storyboards to See It, but hold that vision as a definite possibility awaiting to happen to you. Talk about it as if it’s already in progress, because in your mind It Is! Even if you feel like nothing’s happening yet, you have to keep it in your minds eye. Speak it Into Existence. I would even speak to my circumstances if they don’t agree with me, not even joking. Circumstances might cause a lot of – bad – influence in our lives, but only as far as we let them. Oh. Wait….
Though I am aware that mere imagination is not enough to get where I want to be, it’s a good starting point. Where does yours bring you? Do you ever feel your dreams are so out of reach, they will never take place? Did you enter the realm of ridiculousness already? Did you ever had the heart to share even one of those dreams with another person? It took me years before I realized and dared telling somebody in my family and much later, outside my family, about my love for writing. Afraid it would never be real, well, not as in, to be seen by the world.
What would you do, if suddenly the opportunity arises to go for that One Thing, that’s been your heart’s desire? Will you let yourself be held back by circumstances like, money, opinions, whatever? I hope not. Things don’t always turn out the way I thought or hoped. Well, to be honest, most of the times my imagination is not even sufficient to what it actually looks like in the end. ‘End’ being open, since I’m not there yet lol. In my experience, once I do chase a dream, unimaginable things will happen. Some scary stuff if you don’t like surprises.
Yeah, I shouldn’t need to mention, if surprises are not your thing and you like your life planned and ordered, to be perfectly executed… Ah well, this is most likely not your way to go. Unless, you’re at the point of willing to try something new? 😄 The most interesting conversations I had, were with people who made a significant turnaround in their lives. Their choices versus circumstances, their motivation versus general opinions and not in the least: how did the outcome compare to the initial vision?
When I say, things don’t always work out the way I imagined, I didn’t mean they turned out bad. Most of the times they turn out way better, although it sometimes takes a bit time to realize that. Hindsight is 20/20 they say lol. If we knew then what we know now and all that. It might take me a certain amount of time to get into action, but I know there will always be a point, that going on on the same road just won’t do. It’s a more than a gut feeling, it’s a Soul Feeling, if I should name it.
Having experienced the above many times before, doesn’t always mean the next time will be easier. Since we’re open to – almost – anything, some ‘surprises’ will be hard to deal with at the start. Staying positive and hoping, or knowing, things will eventually turn out for the better can be difficult, but rewarding. There will be questions, there will be ‘Why’s’, but if I can pull through the first struggles, I find a path lying behind, that seems to be the one to follow to success. Hmm, flexibility…
For example: when the prospect of losing our home was looming over us, sure, at first there were thoughts and feelings of anxiety, fear and almost any other negative thing you could come up with. Going through something like that is not particularly easy, especially when having kids still living at home. Yes, we had our Faith to cling to – fortunately. But when everybody, and I do mean Everybody, up till the major’s office, is telling you, there’s nothing else they can do for you to help, what to do?
Not giving up is the first step. Stop panicking would be the second, if not sharing first place. Moving to Ireland was the next in our case though not really in our plans. During our 2 week preparation before leaving, I can assure you, my imagination ran wild. Not easy at all, but looking back, it brought us a lot of good things after the initial struggles were dealt with. And it wasn’t like anything I could have envisioned, At All.
Major events in life most often are a prelude to big changes. Looking back on your life, I am pretty sure you will agree. Those events might not always be fun, happy occasions like: you’ve found the love of your life, the birth of a child, you bought your first home, first car, etc. Sometimes they’re painful, sad ones: your car just totaled in a crash, your relationship just ended, you’re about to lose your home…Which ever the case, such events will basically force you to review your way of life and adjust things. And though it might be a bit easier if you have some time to prepare yourself, life does not always give us that opportunity unfortunately.
Recovering from the shock and rethinking which way to go in life, new choices and revaluations are made. Some people realize this is the moment they have to seize, because you never know how much time there’s left. But often changes might be smaller, though still an impact will be felt. No matter what we might or might not expect to happen, the road ahead is not straight, at least ours isn’t 🤐
However, I don’t need to wait for any external event, to happen before making changes if I follow my imagination. It might actually be a careful balance between the two to be honest. Because in a way, I always expect Big Things to happen and in the meantime, my imagination can lead to fruitful actions. Life As We know It.
How would Art in any form, ever be made without imagination? How would my life be – most certainly now – without it? Bleak, boring, tedious. This is the best time to dream and Dream Big!
Wishing y’all a Fairytale Weekend, Imagine That ❤
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