Everything You Can Imagine

How much is your imagination worth?

I'm beginning with an abstract question, based on abstract thoughts I've been mulling over in my mind. Given that I like abstract art, abstract ideas are fitting--right?

I think so!

Here is the question: What if you were magically given the option of having either more imagination or more knowledge? Which one would you want more? Which one would you choose?

Me? I'd go for imagination, all the way. I tend to find know-it-alls annoying, for one, and also because if taken at face value, imagination seems more fun.

Plus, imagination is fantastic---it has preceded the most celebrated creations and innovations of all time!

Obviously, I'm biased, being artistic as well as a creative daydreamer. Life would seem awfully dull without a great imagination. Plus, I retain very little when it comes to knowledge and facts unless it's something I use regularly. Just knowing something to know it often doesn't appeal to me and I know it won't stick. It seems worthless. I recognize this particular personality trait and point of view isn't a virtue, and many people would disagree with me. It's not that I don't know that knowledge is incredibly important. It is. Knowledge is power! It helps with almost every facet of life. Plus, imagination without know-how (and hard work) is basically just unrealized potential. That's why the question isn't just assuming you must choose one over the other...but which one you want more.

We can all use a little more imagination, no?

Pablo Picasso is credited with saying, "Everything you can imagine is real." Viewing this statement with skepticism is easy. Everything I can imagine? Really? I mean, just because I can imagine a pink alien appearing in my backyard doesn't mean that it will ever happen. That's true. I think it could be debated further, but since Picasso was an artist, to me, it makes perfect sense from a creative perspective. Although, I think it can apply to other aspects of life too.

I'm subscribing more and more to the belief that there's great power in our thoughts (I've been listening to a podcast from a life coach who talks about this often). Even when our circumstances are less than ideal, we can imagine something better--and feel just as good as if our circumstances had changed. We can imagine living our dreams and feel just as amazing, right now. And the great thing about this power of thought is those good feelings can be instantaneous! I found it to be true recently in my life as I keep consciously working on both my thoughts and imagination. Of course, it can go the other way---how many times have we imagined a worst-case scenario and felt absolutely terrible?

As I've been thinking about the parts of my life that are good and real right now, in many instances, they were once imagined. I can imagine making an art piece, and after a little time and effort, it's materialized. But it goes deeper than that. For example: as an Idaho girl who longed to get away from being surrounded by a sea of potato fields, I imagined living in D.C, Boston, and Seattle. Guess where I've spent the past decade of my life? My top three. There was a time I imagined having a family of my own, and now I have a husband and three beautiful children. Last year I imagined building a brand for my art. I've been imagining the steps to get there and here I am, on this journey. I'm imagining more, and the thoughts alone bring me joy. The journey getting there brings me joy, too. And the remarkable thing is that the joy is real, not imagined!

It's a hopeful truth to internalize: if you can imagine it, if it's important enough to you to spend time working on, you can create it. Those dreams you have now can be a reality. What an empowering truth: Everything you can imagine is real.

*Note, since first writing this post I've found this quote by Albert Einstein:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

I like his opinion on the matter!