Do you have a garden tool that, on first glance, would appear to be neglected and abused but which you know looks that way because it is so important?
For me, that tool would be a pair of post hole diggers that once belonged to my grandfather. The handles are old and splintered. The blades have long lost any notion of paint that was on them–just metal scratched by the earth–so many times. My memory couldn’t begin to recount all of the holes they have dug for how many projects that belonged in my grandparents’ garden and in my own.
This month of May, we are exploring “Living Love Through the Practice of Imagination.” I want to suggest that our human imagination may be one of those tools of ours that appears, on first glance, to be rather neglected and even abused.
Consider how we talk about imagination. It too frequently becomes a means of dismissal and denigration.
“Don’t say that–that’s just your imagination talking.”
“Am I crazy–is that just my imagination?”
“Don’t listen to them. They have a wild imagination.”
“What? Did you imagine that anyone would be interested in what you have to say?
“I had this idea, and I got really excited about it, but now I’m thinking it was just my imagination.”
“Why would you imagine that? (that’s crazy!)
We do this–to ourselves and to each other. We cast imagination as if it were a human flaw that needs to be dismissed, put in its place, sent to the corner for punishment.
Is it possible that we have fostered such an assault on imagination because of just how important it is, how powerful it is, how necessary it is in human affairs? I mean, if I can convince you (or myself!) that imagination is to be held in contempt, then I gain control over you and your ideas (or I talk myself out of a new possibility).
I dare say that before we even put a foot on the floor this morning, our imaginations were already at work–first for the simple things. What will I do first? What next? How much coffee to make? How will I spend my time today–at work, at home, with friends or family? What’s the plan? All of that requires us to imagine, and those are just the basics of human daily life. Actions follow our imaginations, and actions engage us in life. We live because we imagine!
What are the bigger things that dance through our imaginations? A project, a creation, a new job, new place to live, a relationship? A garden idea? A solution to a problem that has been bothering us for a long time? None of those things happen without human imagination at work.
I believe our imaginations are no less vital than our hearts beating in our chests. They make us human, and they are vital to the interdependent web of which we are all a part.
~Bob Patrick
