"Let your imagination be your guide, not your memory"
What an amazing time to be alive! The world we live in is teaming with so many opportunities, so many different and exciting chances to experience new adventure and embrace our creativity.
You can literally and figuratively spin a globe and point!..Its crazy to say this but, for those that don't know what I am referring to. Back in the pre-handheld tech developed period of life. As kids we would spin an actual globe, close our eyes and stop it with a finger. Wherever you were pointing was the new adventure destination.
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For some it may be Baltimore or Utah or maybe Budapest or Iceland. It didn't matter though because as children everywhere was new and full of adventure and excitement!
The fuel for these make believe travels came entirely from our imaginations. Those creative thoughts were not pushed through "the reasons I can't" filter that we so often use in our "Grown Lives".. This simple little time passing practice was never just about the thoughts of packing a bag and boarding a plane but about allowing your imaginations guide us to someplace new.
What I'm looking to drive home is that as children we seemed to think so much BIGGER than we do as adults. This was however referred to as having an active imagination..WOW! Think about the implications of that sentiment. Children are told all the time to get their heads out of the clouds or, "__________! " ( you can fill in the blank with something that you have heard or maybe even said yourself).
Here is a point that we need to lock into the front of all of our minds at all times, thoughts become results. I'm an acronym guy so this is one that I use,
T.B.A.R. or T-Bar:
Thoughts = Beliefs = Actions = Results
They started as 2 little boys rolling down grassy hills and watching birds fly overhead and IMAGINING how that must feel. To be able to see the world from the tree tops, to be free to go wherever their IMAGINATION could carry them! So began their thoughts or imagination which reinforced their BELIEF against all of the skeptics that one day they would fly. So they put in the work and through trial and error their ACTIONS led to the first flight way back in 1903. RESULTS!!
Can you imagine if they had listened when they were told to get their heads out of the clouds?
One of the sad facts of growing older is that we LEARN new fears and feed the ones that we already have. Fear is the natural enemy of hope, faith, dreaming, of all things good. As adults, to often, we have allowed that fear to replace our imagination. We have started feeding the wrong wolf.
For most of us there are plenty of excuses not to leave our comfort zones. I know that through all of the things that I have told myself, fear is at the root. Fear of failure, fear of being alone, fear of choosing the 'wrong' mate, fear of not knowing enough, not being socially accepted, fear of succeeding (yes that is a very real and terrible fear) fear of being heard, of being seen, of being ignored, of being hurt...whats sad is that list could go on and on..
Fear has crept into every facet of life. Its not just something that popped up. We've been taught to be afraid! Its in our daily news, in our medical practices, its in fire and brimstone pulpit pounding, in our magazines. Fear has become an entity and a motivator.
It has been pounded into us so much that it has become part of our speech and we speak through it. "I'm afraid we are sold out." "I'm afraid that we have no tables available." I even caught my good friend and weather man Nick Allard saying yesterday, "Well, I'm afraid that the sun is going to fade and the rain is on its way!" (2 things here first, sorry for putting you on blast Nick. Second, it's WA my man, of course its going to rain! You picked the right profession my friend.)
Here is a fact to consider. We are born with 2 basic fears, just 2. The fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Even as babies we overcome our primary fears. We learn to walk and climb, tumble a bit and yes, to fall. Through it all we don't stop because those fears are being coached out of us and we have
absolutely nothing to base failure on. It is quite literally just the natural next step ion our lives as we grow. As per the loud noises well, I think that we are just stuck with that one.
So fear is learned, Okay, awesome! This means that we can teach ourselves out of it and better even, reinforce confidence and hope. We need to work together to help encourage one another to be brave, to be bold and creative. As a worldwide network of human beings we can change things by helping each other overcome that laundry list of crippling fears.
It needs to start now though and we need to focus on our youth and children. Can you imagine a society built on the foundation of faith and hope, on confidence and big dreams? I can! If we can teach our babies to overcome their primary fear of falling think what we can do if we apply that same effort into teaching them to be brave through the obstacles of life. If we can encourage them to embrace falling down in life as simply an opportunity to learn something new.
When she was just 7 years old her school had convinced her mother that she had a learning disorder. She was taken to a specialist to diagnose her disability. Her symptoms were pretty simple. Her attention span was short and she was constantly moving. A naturally wiggly kid. Now days she would be diagnosed as having ADHD. This however, was the 30's so, that hadn't quite been invented.
After spending time with Gillian, the specialist found that this little girl was trying to process so much more than the average child of her same age. He also found that her creative "fancy" was hyper engaged. The Doctor spent the next half hour trying to explain his findings and their meaning to her mother. No progress was being made so finally the specialist asked Gillian's mother to step out of the room with him. When they got up to walk out he turned on some music and told Gillian that they would be back in a few minutes.
When they got out into the hallway he said to her mother, "Just watch." The next thing that happened changed the world. In that moment Gillian jumped up and began dancing all around the room. She was smiling and laughing, not a care or fear in the world.
After watching for a few minutes the doctor turned to Gillian's mother and said, "There is nothing wrong with your child, she is just a natural born dancer!"
This woman accomplished so much and lived to be a happy 92 years old! To think that her creative flame was so close to being snuffed out before it ever had the chance to illuminate the world. Let's spread hope, curiosity and, intrigue. Teach our children to dream as big as their imaginations can take them. Nurture them and all of our brothers and sisters with hope, faith, and love!
"What if I fall?
My Child,
WHAT IF YOU FLY?!"
1❤️
CJ
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