We live in dynamic times, don’t we? And we’re always cautioned that AI or the Internet or whatever it is is going to take away our imagination, the power to be imaginative.
When I look at children running and playing as they did the other day in a park, I’m not so sure. I guess the risk is that probably we are naturally imaginative, for sure.
But once we do get into an educational environment, there is the risk that can be diminished, that can be, I wouldn’t like to say killed, but it can certainly be damaged.
An experience I had, I have a class of girls at a particular school, and we do two field trips a semester, and these are bright kids, right, from good families.
And so on the first trip, we normally go and we view the architecture in the area, the natural environment, but the focus is basically on architecture, and of course the plants and the bees and the bugs that are associated with the buildings, because
all buildings have to be somewhat natural, don’t they? They have to be nestled into nature, otherwise we don’t respond to them, and over time they disappear.
And these young ladies have truly never been exposed to nature, to buildings, in quite this way. So we discuss the columns. A lot of these buildings are Japanese Baroque, as it’s called.
They have a lot of Baroque features. Some columns are thrown in as well. It’s a kind of interesting style from the early Menjie period, in the early part of the 20th century.
They’re very statuesque and very beautiful. So we do that, then we walk along. And the powers of observation, leading, of course, to imagination, are somewhat lacking, but we stimulate them.
And when I read the reports, I’m greatly encouraged that imagination for sure is not dead. It just has to be stimulated. And on our second field trip, we go along totally in nature.
We go along the trestle, and there is nothing there but old railway tracks and a place to sit down, and you can sketch, and you can hear the water, and hear the birds twittering away, and you pass other artists, perhaps, that are sitting there, and
they’re sitting there sketching away, and the young ladies were re-intrigued, truly. And then, of course, we walk back to school. But how do I stimulate my imagination? How do I encourage it, right?
What am I to do? Well, I think the one way you do, for sure, is that you forget the comments of other people. Just go with the flow at that moment, right?
Get right into it. Many people say as well that we should try to read as much as absolutely possible. That’s why I go to a gym, so I can listen to audiobooks, and read in a wide range of people.
Really, the man I really enjoyed in the last year of reading has been Carl Jung. I’ve read about three of his books. You know, just a very insightful human being.
But all the great scholars, all the great intellectuals are really running in front of you, imaginatively, aren’t they? They really are. They’re just out there all the way.
And of course, once again, when you have a great idea, write it down. Open your notebook, which you should have with you, because you’re documenting the day in the day, making this day special, of course. Write down that great idea.
Don’t let it escape, because it will run away. Ideas seemingly are like stars. They flicker, right?
And then they disappear. And then, if you want to close your eyes for a bit, it’s wonderful to listen to Rumi. Because his love writings, his love poetry, really pulls us into a wonderful world.
Let’s see if we can find a love poem by Rumi. Okay, here we are. The Stunning Love Poem Like This by Rumi.
If anyone asks you how the perfect satisfaction of all our physical wanting will look like, lift your face and say, like this. When someone mentions the gracefulness of the night sky, climb up on the roof and dance and say, like this.
If anyone wants to know what spirit is or what God’s fragrance means, lean your head toward him or her, keep your face very close and say, like this. If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead, don’t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips, like this, like this. When someone asks what it means to die for love, point here. If someone asks how tall I am, frown and measure with your fingers the space between the creases on your forehead, this tall, like this.
The soul sometimes leaves the body, then returns when someone doesn’t believe that, walk back into my house, like this. When lovers moan, they’re telling our story, like this.
I am a sky where the spirits live, stare into this deepening blue, while the breeze says a secret, like this. When someone asks what there is to do, like the candle in his hand, like this. How did Joseph’s scent come to Jacob?
Like this. How did Jacob’s sight return? Like this.
Like this. When Shams comes back to Tabriz, he’ll put us right. He’ll put just his head around the edge of the door, and he’ll surprise us, like this.
Like this. So, imagination. Like this from Rumi.
Wonderful. So, you know what they say. You know what they say.
Critical thinking is everything, especially if you want to find your imaginative edge, your imaginative being. Don’t lose that, for sure. And critical thinking is great.
God bless. Bye-bye.