My Greatest Gift

Imagination is my greatest gift. It has always been at the core of my life: it is a tool for use in
professional life, it is the heart of my most enjoyable leisure, and it has been a shield and source of hope in life’s most challenging seasons. I don’t profess any knowledge or understanding of why we’re here or why we’re one of a very small selection of species which demonstrates any evidence of the ability to imagine, but here we are!

Imagination coupled with experience is the basis of most of my work. I am faced with new
challenges each day in my professional life. I work with a great team of individuals who also
have the gift of imagination. We must approach issues like custom products, machinery
breakdowns, personnel conflict, supply chain challenges, and all sorts of other things. These can be daunting concerns, but the continued application of imagination leads to resolution, and we move on to the next thing.

Most of my hobbies and pastimes require imagination. Board games and tabletop games,
woodworking, music, and puzzles of all kinds feed the imaginative mind. I love solving puzzles.
The dopamine rush I get when something clicks is second only to the process. Imagination is
critical to problem solving for me. I seek to understand the parameters of the situation and then imagination runs wild. Why could this happen? What happens if I take this step? How can I anticipate what is next? This imaginative journey sparks joy.

Imagination was also my greatest challenge for many years. My particular flavor of anxiety
manifests as a filter through which all stimulus refracts. I used to think of anxiety as just
“worrying” and felt that it didn’t affect me, but I learned that the part of me that didn’t trust
positive affirmations from others, that couldn’t fathom others wishing friendship with me, and that said anything I accomplished was worthless or just luck. Thankfully, therapy and medication have blunted that edge.

I believe the practice of imagination is part of a healthy and joyous life. It is so embedded in my life that I didn’t think about it as practice but took it for granted that it is this way for everyone. I urge you all to find room for more imagination in your life.

~Ian Van Sice