“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”. -Albert Einstein
When I was a child I used to spin great stories in my head, characters, plots, fun of all sorts. I don’t remember trying to do that of course, because imagination is an innate gift that comes into life with us. My mother used to roll her eyes and either call me Sarah Bernhardt (millennials – you will have to google who that is) or tell me my vivid imagination was too vivid. I think I have spent a good part of my adulthood attempting to return to that natural gift I so delighted in as a child.
Einstein, who I have quoted in other blogs, gave this gift a greater value than knowledge and we know the theory of relativity didn’t come from knowledge – it came from the vision and imagination of a great genius. The iPhone I depend on and frankly enjoy, came through another great imagination – another man who had less value for knowledge and more value for the unseen. (thank you Steve- Your gift is really helping us through these days of sheltering in place!)
When we look out at our world this week, we see imagination used in the service of fear – imagining more sickness this summer – imagining life with constraints- imagining more economic strife. This frankly concerns me more than the virus – an entire population of people in fear, anxiety and panic….rather than the possibility of evolution at work before our eyes. The incredible chance to imagine new joys, inventions we can’t even conceive of, and new ways to love each other and celebrate our innate gifts -not the ones we have to stand in line for to buy – but the ones that we were divinely endowed with and can bring to every situation.
Imagination doesn’t just serve the extra-ordinary, it also serves the small gestures in life.
This week I saw imagination at work in the Trader Joe’s staff – giving positive encouragement, laughter and appreciation to their patrons as we waited in line. I saw it on line with new opportunities to connect – a family who owns lamas and goats figuring out how to offer what goes on at their farm by allowing people to use photos and videos of them in their zoom meetings. (Its call Goat to Meeting ..a take off on go to meeting). Is that clever or what?
And I saw it in my friends who hosted a small, socially distant, birthday party in my honor, in a beautiful park near where we live. We laughed and shared in a careful and protective way of each other – and Mother Nature graced us with a breeze and some lovely dandelions. A shout out to my friend, Margi, for having the imagination for some fun when we needed it and to Kayo, Dee, and Linda who added decorations, dessert and love.
We are being challenged right now my friends – in ways we didn’t see coming – but it’s a wonderful time to imagine…we have less distractions and calendar management-lets imagine the world in a new and better place, ways to express that are deeper and more precious- and as the great poet John Lennon said, Imagine all the people living life in peace.
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
