“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere” —-Carl Sagan
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I remember when growing up stick forts were upright limbs and branches woven between. We fought with stick swords, guns, and rifles. Cardboard boxes became houses, buses, cars, a knights shield, or used to go sledding down a hill of dry field grass. Oh, there was no end to what the imagination could bring to life in one’s mind as a child. As a kid, we had to use our imaginations, and utilize what was available to be creative. Warm sunny days we weren’t allowed to be indoors, so we created and imagined, exercising the creative part of our brain.
Unfortunately, I don’t see much of that in children today. Our schools don’t encourage it, taking away the arts from classrooms. I hear kids saying they are bored, because they don’t know how to use imagination or be creative. Everything today is virtual, on a screen in front of them, nothing to stimulate their brains imagination, and no physical exercise. They sit and play video games, or chat on social media sites, which stagnates a child’s social skills, but that’s another topic for another blog.
Our society doesn’t encourage creativity nor use of imagination, in fact, I believe it is extinguishing it. All children have imaginations, but when parents and our educational schools don’t encourage its use, that part of the brain weakens.
Walt Disney stated that best, when he said, “Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as a muscle grows flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it.” Look where Walt’s imagination and creativity took him!
Without imagination think of all we’d be missing. There would be no Steven Spielberg, or George Lucas, J.K. Rowling, or J. M. Barrie who wrote Peter Pan. So many authors writing books to stimulate one’s imagination and be free to see the characters and scenes in one’s own minds eye. Albert Einstein stated, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you Everywhere.” It’s true, we can go anywhere and everywhere using our imaginations.
We need to encourage children to exercise their imaginations, to be creative. There are so many ways. Through art and drawing, reading and writing, music and dance, theatrics and acting and photography. One photographer comes to mind, his name is Zev Hoover. A young lad from Finland that is so creative and imaginative, his photos are quite world renown, his pictures stimulate the mind of the onlookers.
It’s today’s encouragement by parents and our educational systems that build tomorrows creators, inventors, writers, musicians, and scientists. Television and video games are not what children need to stimulate creativity and imaginations. In fact, what are our children seeing on television today? Murders, rapes, drug dealers, thefts, bomb plots, cops on the take. Video games depicting anime killing, bombing, etc. Not much left to a child’s imagination. Although it may lead to being creative to lead an army into a gaming battle and encourage strategies to annihilate another enemy’s troop or kingdom. Neither are entertainment at it’s best, and definitely does not exercise or stimulate one’s imagination or creativity.
Parents, take the time to encourage stimulating games and play with your children, limit television, computer, and video game time. Enroll your children in schools with the Arts as part of their curricular activities. We need to challenge our children to be creative and imaginative. Albert Einstein quoted, “Imagination is more important that knowledge.”
Imagine our world today without the imaginations of so many before us! Even the most simple things in our lives wouldn’t have been invented…Electricity, the Automobile, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, the Microwave, and so many things we take for granted today.
And to think it all started with the imagination of a simple caveman who created the “wheel.”
What are your thoughts? Be creative and leave a comment.
Seniam Nevets
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