'Beach Bum'

"Imagination will take you everywhere."

Albert Einstein 

My friends lovingly referred to her as the 'Beach Bum' as she dashed off to the ocean every chance she had. We teased her about worshipping the sun and flaunting her amazingly fit body. When she returned from the ocean, our 'Beach Bum' would simply be glowing. She oozed nothing but love and radiance.

Years later, illness entered her body and she became paralyzed. No more trips to the ocean and no more hours spent in the gym. No matter how often we visited, depression had settled in. Nothing would nudge her towards any degree of happiness. That is, until one day, she began the practice of visualization. 

No longer able to move, her creative mind recreated the 'Beach Bum'. By routinely closing her eyes, she recalled favorite snippets of memory. Soon she became a master at integrating herself into these visualizations to the point of feeling hot sand, ocean waves, and the radiance of the sun. She began to live again through her imagination

 

Pure Essence

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge

is limited, whereas, imagination embraces the entire world,

stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."

Albert Einstein

How differently we would evolve if we were encouraged to express knowledge through our unique perceptions.  The focus would not be on perfected skill, but rather upon insightful interpretation and application.

Imagine combining dream images with formations of learning; capturing the sounds of nature and blending them with music; and placing favorite words upon watercolor pages.  We would feel the heart swell with recognition of intended enhancement.

We all have a creative flow within us, but it is stifled by stress, rigidity, and overwhelm.  When we unpack unnecessary debris, we begin to feel an inner rhythm. Our heightened creativity is reflected in our pure essence.

What If and Fairy Tales

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.

If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

Albert Einstein  

It is understandable to not want to tell children fairy tales, in an effort not to lie to them. It is hard to feed little ones imaginations with fantasy only later admitting none of it was true.  This is about being accountable; but as in many areas of life, balance is needed.

Albert Einstein was a brilliant man, and he used a great deal of creativity in finding answers to his questions.  Imagination is a tool to enhance our life and can be presented in a natural way.  There is a difference between adamantly misleading a child with falsehoods and inquiring what they might think of what they hear, see or feel.  Children are naturally imaginative and at the very least, adults can listen to what is in the child's thoughts.

Intelligence will assist us in learning, and with imagination brilliant results appear.  If a parent feels fairy tales are misleading, what do they believe the harsh and violent computer games are projecting? Again, balance is required, but it is an injustice to deprive a young mind from wandering into the 'what if' moments in life.

Where We Place Our Feet

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually go further

than the crowd.  The woman who walks alone is likely to

find herself in places no one has ever been before."

Albert Einstein

We are not meant to live life in isolation, but we are called to have independent time to acknowledge what part of life is important to us.  We follow the crowd at some point to experience the ability to choose what truly resonates within us.  At some point, we stray from the crowd to better define our own sense of self.

To maintain a circle of friends is important whether gathering four times a year or four times per month.  If our group tends to be carbon copies of each other, we will not learn challenging new insights.  If our group is eclectic with a common core, we will be exposed to differing opinions and beliefs to stretch our mind, heart, and soul.

A strong foundation of self allows us to travel unexplored areas.  We can expose the self to differences without becoming those differences.  Interactions expand us, but we require our alone time to choose and digest who we want to be and what sincerely represents our inner self.  There is the occasion to return to the maddening crowd to experience and evaluate how far we have transitioned towards our unique self.

Imagination and Creativity

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge

is limited.  Imagination encircles the world."

Albert Einstein

Creativity comes in various colors, styles, and abilities.  Our own imagination develops into an art that often times goes unnoticed.  People can have a colorful streak while other creativity is more subtle.  We often take our own strength in stride, falsely assuming anyone can do what we do.

We do not give enough credit to the artistic expression of a person who specializes in landscaping or floral design.  The ability to create mouth watering appetizers is just as relevant as the woodsman who chooses wood for a specialized project.  Science and technology requires a sense of design as much as a musician or poet

My creativity shows in how I set a festive table with linens, silverware, and china.  My imagination is woven through my words as well as knitting or quilting.  The importance is to explore and learn how to express differing parts of the self.  Do we minimize our strengths, hide them or disregard them?  Is it flowing within an inner landscape or does it flow out into the world?  Think about it.