IMAGINATION (REPOSTING FOR A FRIEND)

Can you imagine yourself in a hammock, eyes closed, the breath of the morning breeze kissing your skin, its touch soft as a butterfly? I can, and often do. Imagination is a wonderful thing. It can take us anywhere we wish to go, whether that be Paris, Jerusalem, Greece, Mexico, or New  York.
    Some people have told me (when I was younger), that I needed to grow up and act my age; needed to put away childish things and stop daydreaming so much. It made me very sad, made me feel as if they were asking me to stop being myself, and in a way they were.
   Children's imaginations help them cope with difficult things. It helps them stretch their comfort zone, allows them to be themselves, to have fun and be creative. My imagination helped me endure painful and humiliating experiences. Whenever I was hurting, I'd imagine how it would be later on, when things were better, calmer- when the adults finally managed to settle their differences. Imagination  got me  through the roughest part of my life.

I didn't spend much time with my father growing up, so treasured the times I had him to myself. One day he took me with him (I can't recall where we were going, but do remember our conversation). We'd just driven under a bridge and I said. " "Dad, how many boxes of oleo could you stack from the ground to the top of that bridge?"
   "Not sure. Quite a lot, I imagine."
   "One hundred?"
   "Maybe."
   "More?"
   "Don't know."
   "Less than a hundred?"
   "Not sure."
   "Well guess."
        He changed the subject. I asked next, how far away the stars were, what made them so bright, asked how the man who made our car knew how to make it. I asked  him where rubber came from, and how come we have to call a chair a  chair. I asked who invented paint, and how come the water we drink is a different color than ocean water.
   After a short while he began to get very frustrated. He didn't get mad, just sighed and asked, "Doesn't your mind ever shut down?"
   I guess it doesn't - hasn't - and I'm an adult now. A car passes our house and I wonder where the people inside it are going. I wonder if they are happy or sad, if they believe in God, or don't, if they still know how to have fun. I wonder how they view the world, wonder if they can still see it through the eyes of a child
    I go shopping, and notice every thing and everybody. I wonder if the lady in front of me realizes what a good example she is setting for her little girl, by being so patient to the rude checker.
   I go to the park and see a couple sitting quietly on a bench nearby; notice the way the lady is sitting, head down, kind of hugging herself while gently rocking back and forth. I notice the way the man is patting her shoulder, but not looking at her. He is staring into the distance, a sad look upon his face. I find myself imagining the worst of things going on in their lives, find myself grateful, though I'm not sure why, that it isn't me on that bench.
  
   Imagination is a wonderful thing. Sometimes it even helps us find solutions to problems, helps us come up with a new and  different approach, one that just may  work this time.
  

Keep on dreaming. Don't ever give up your dream. Some of the most beautiful, wonderful, delightful things in the world began with that first step. We don't enter the world knowing all things, but are capable of learning many new things.

Well, sunshine found my hiding place this morning; no wind, no snow, no rain today. I hope, wherever you are, you woke to something that lifted your spirits too; if not the sun, than perhaps knowing how loved you are, that your daily needs will be met, that you have a best friend, PLUS a brand new day offering you a DO OVER. Gotta love that!

Life is short so create a beautiful memory today.

  love you much,
  
   Barb