Like many people, I go to a gym. My body is not young, so like all machines, its elements are subjected to “wear and tear.” I have a lot of respect for my corporeality and I know that it is a finite entity; therefore, it must be protected and preserved. I am one of the club’s older members, so I am left with the opinion that most of us have given up the fight against our aging body: that being said, countless stomachs protrude unnecessarily. I, on the other hand, believe that with a little nurturing, we can live continue to live active and fulfilling lives well into our latter years. This also includes our intellectual activities. Our mind is much like a muscle, the more we keep it limber, the stronger its elasticity. Attending any youthful rock concert or art exhibit is enough to snap you back fifty years to your youth: great fun – though hard on the senses, especially the ears. I recently went to one such activity and found myself at the very front row. I had to defend my position from a crush of eager attendees, all wanting to seek a better view of the stage. Having fended off the attackers, I was able to “enjoy” the following three hours of musical onslaught. The lingering result of the valiant defense of my locale was that I was virtually deaf for the following three days. But as Franz Kafka (1883-1924) reminds us,” Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
I am always struck by the amount of mirrors that the average athletic club has. Why I always wonder? The reason, of course, is that we are supposed to admire our physique and watch its infinitesimal changes overtime: hence the reason that I am here and the justification for its financial cost. We live in a society riddled with images. The average “connected” human being, I have read, is subjected to 54,000 words a day. (1) Now: if this is even remotely true, we are the receptacles of “streamed” standards of look, social behavior and consumption, to name but a few. We are, thus, in an age of total imagery and not one of imagination. I must be a good-looking, physically-fit man with a leather briefcase and a cell phone glued to my ear, or, even better, with one of those ridiculous-looking ear pieces affixed to my oreille. How do I then step into this world beyond the immediate – the reality of the cerebrum? The short answer is not easily, not without real effort and introspection. It is, however, a journey well worth taking. In our former reference to the mind, spend a moment at any public venue: a bus station, a coffee shop or a restaurant. One can easily be impressed by its level of silence or, at the very least, muted sense of interest. No one is intimately communicating. Is this a plot to make us stupid or ignorant as a voting populace? I would hope not, but the doubt lingers. Ask yourself, where does all of this self-absorbedness lead? Aristotle was the father of rhetoric: the gift of intelligent discussion and articulate disagreement. As with any skill, this discipline requires practice, practice and more practice. Can the art of conversation be achieved in silence? No: the mental adroitness associated with imagination can only be achieved through its implementation. Pretend that you are your own knight: be your on Don Quixote, (2) the old man who, in his insanity, becomes a romantic, valiant conquistador from times long past, “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!” This then is perhaps the best way to ignite our powers of fanciful flight. Firstly, we must acknowledge that the cell phone is but a useful tool and FB is only a societal link, a form of connectedness – not a piece of my soul. It is all in my mind, I can be anything that I want — given that I understand my physical givens — I am Canadian, I am sixty-years-old, I have two children, etc. I am truly free to be me – at any age. The actor and author Ethan Hawke (b. 1970) leave us with a thought: Don’t you find it odd,” she continued, “that when you’re a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you’re older, somehow they act offended if you even try.” (3)
A small joke: During a heated argument, a young boy told his mother that she was a terrible caregiver. Taken aback, the diligent parent decried his insolence and rudeness. “Why then, the petulant child asked, “do you send me to bed when I am not tired and wake me up when I am?”
This week, please contemplate how you create imagination in your own life.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: The beauty of the human mind is its capacity to extend beyond itself to images of bliss and nirvana. Hence, for what reason do most live in intellectual squalor and consumptive disillusionment?
Footnotes:
1) www.adweek.com: Social Media Overload – How Much Information Do We Process Each Day?
2) Don Quixote
3) Ethan Hawke, The Hottest State: ISBN 978-0-316-54083-4