A vision takes you somewhere.
Thoughts become things.
Without a vision, the people perish.
If you can ask the question, on some level, you already know the answer.
These are all statements from a variety of sources that, for me, are trying to say something similar. For each human being who can imagine, who can inquire, who can enter into reflective thought about events, relationships and conditions, there is a journey to be had and to unfold.
People who do research in any field know that their research is driven by the quality of their questions and their ability to imagine possibilities. People who are part of an enduring, beneficial and sustainable religious movement know this about leadership in their organizations. It is precisely the ability of leadership in the community to ask difficult questions, imagine responses that may press beyond the boundaries of the religious tradition, and the capacity to reframe the tradition in light of the present reality that keeps religion a live and useful in human community. The religion that has all the answers and needs no questions, that has ceased to expand beyond its previously known boundaries has begun to die. The journey has ended.
And the arts? Where in the world would writers and painters, dancers and composers, sculptors and architects be without an imagination, without questions, without the capacity for going places they have never been before.
What are the questions that keep pressing themselves into your soul? What is it that you keep hoping for in your life? What better way can you imagine in some of your relations and communities? These are the stepping stones of your journey.
Bob Patrick
