imagination .

Do you remember the days of childhood? Everything I did was imagined. Well, not everything. But you could take something trivial and virtually meaningless -- and turn it into something. A certain video comes to mind here...

Okay, so let's be real: not only is that kinda inspiring, but the imagination is flowing, and wowwww the music is sweet. The whole experience is pretty surreal -- and shows what the imagination of a child can do. Granted, it's about keeping a clean bathroom. But the premise before that might hold the secret to a greater meaning in life.

Have we lost our imagination? Have we forgotten that all you really need to be playful is a cardboard box and some paper hats? When I was younger I did all sorts of things that were completely imagined. I used to love toy trains, and had a mat with painted tracks on it, and I'd drive those Thomas-the-Tank-Engine trains all over the place, making up story lines, problems, resolutions, the whole nine. My sister and I did the same with matchbox cars. Perhaps our meticulousness (or perhaps, ridiculousness) drove us to create the extensive maps that we made, out of taped together 8.5 x 11's. I wish I had a picture to show you, because it's a true of insanity. Rolled up on end, they were probably 3-4' tall. But rolled out, oh my goodness. Easily 15' long. And there were road signs, shops, diners, houses, gas stations, and parking lots. Every single matchbox car I had had a name, and each had a designated house, and certain neighborhoods were created strictly for certain types of vehicles [ie, Jeeps, or maybe fire trucks].

I loved those things to no end, and I still have them somewhere in the basement. Continuing on my ridiculous imagination I used to ride a blue huffy around with a jacket and work gloves and pretend I was riding a motorcycle around. And in case you're wondering, yes of course I made the noises to go along with it. Is there any other way to pretend? Let's just say, I was a pro.

But to some extent, I feel that creative imagination of mine is lost -- or at the very least, it has dwindled a bit. The juice no longer flows, and I think for a lot of people, it's because imagination becomes a childish thing. Imagination has the connotation of ignorance, or apathy, or both. Whether you know that what you're dreaming up isn't real or not, you don't care. Imagination, in a way, sorta turns into wishes and dreams -- things we know will never happen, but still desire. And yet, we keep them to ourselves. We never get a chance to live those out.

So maybe it's time to execute a change. A time when you close your eyes and reach back into the past and regain that magic that encircled your childhood life with ferocity and no shame. To pull it out of the woodwork, and relive it -- if only for a moment. Consider this my challenge. Now, you've got some imagining to do -- so stop reading and start dreamin' kid.

Lyric of the day
"well I had a dream I, stood beneath an orange sky"