Re-Engaging The Imagination
I somehow managed to hold onto my imagination, despite the attempts of various schools and places of employment to squash it. My third grade teacher banished me into the corner one science class because a large group of young boys had gathered around my latest artwork. We were all laughing and having a good time admiring my colorful imagination on paper when she said, “Julie, stop laughing right now or you’re going into the corner.”
Needless to say I did not stop laughing — it’s always been my salvation from stupid demands — hence, another trip to the corner. Taking a child who exhibits imagination and life and sending her to stare at a beige corner made no sense to me then. Now, it simply underscores the not-so-subtle punishment children receive for not handing over their imaginations without a fight.
Instead, why wouldn’t teachers get off script and join in the fun of life? And that was before all this absurd testing. Can anyone get off script now? For any reason? The parallel work version of testing would be the endless goal and objective setting. One place I interviewed about 8 years ago said, “Every Monday you will set your weekly goals and on Friday we’ll meet to make sure you’ve attained them.” And this was a so-called “creative” position. Sounded like a prison to me.
So, back to imagination. I view many of the world’s problems to be symptomatic of an imagination shortage. Many problems to solve. Too little imagination to do so.
Imagination requires quiet and alone time. In today’s noise filled, 24/7 connected world, quiet can be a difficult place to find. Humans do not need all this technology to be creative. In fact, it may contribute to repressed imaginations because it takes over activities the brain used to do.
Recall the three writing Bronte sisters – Emily, Charlotte and Anne. They grew up motherless, fairly poor, and lived mundane lives, all dying before 40. Yet, they wrote imaginative, adventurous, emotionally-laden novels. Take Wuthering Heights by Emily. The passionate, revenge-centered story sweeps you off your feet and doesn’t put you down until it’s finished with you. She died at thirty, supposedly never having been in love. So, where did the story come from?
An unfettered, encouraged mind.
To re-engage your mind, you need to use it. Got a few ways for you.
- Create a quiet zone: Pick a time of day, turn off all your gadgets and sit there. Try a few minutes at first and work your way up to 15 minutes.
- Choose an inanimate object. Write its autobiography.
- Write with your non-dominant hand: For whatever reason, this activity awakens little used parts of your brain.
How has your imagination fared over the years? Love to hear below …
Giulietta, lover of imagination.
p.s. got a LIVE five-week personal essay writing class in Hopkinton, MA. Starts this Thursday Morning. Please click on Secrets of Personal Essay Writing for more info. (Scroll down.) Great way to re-engage!
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Tapping into my creativity always makes me feel more alive. A month ago, I tried inputing my manuscript into a storyboarding program… but I realized when it comes down to it, I’m still a pen and paper kind of girl.
And I’m pretty sure the Bronte sisters didn’t have Scrivener.
Hi Angie,
Good point about technology. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable and creative. Sometimes the technology can get in the way of actually pursuing something in a creative way. I get a lot of good writing ideas with pen/pad, too. Usually start that way then move to the computer. Like your blog topic. Will check it out! Thx, G.
If anything, most of my friends would say that I almost use my imagination too much. My ability to drift and imagine is sometimes over-active. My teachers would have loved talking to your teachers and commiserating about us.
@Angie, I’ve tried Schrivener-like apps before too and eventually went the other way. So I’m with ya… My WP screen is as simple as possible and I keep a separate .doc with chapter notes as I go. No outlining, just characters and a conflict, and then we all see where it goes together. 🙂
Michael,
Too funny about our teachers getting together to rag about their overly creative students. I can hear it now… There’s a certain wildness to creativity that does not do well in restraints.
Am a huge drifting fan. Left a comment on a blog kind of dissing drifting and got my cyber-knuckles rapped. Said I was wrong. Drifting not good, ever. Think we need more drifting and drinking it in. Thx, g.
Great article. Wow, sent in the corner for laughing…. I really believe there will be a day when traditional workplaces and schools transform and allow more time for imagination and creativity. I think a lot of those old structures are rapidly changing. Though sometimes it can feel like it’s not fast enough. I am also someone who felt like my creativity was stifled in school and feel really blessed to be able to do the work I love the way I want. I really envision the day when society is more supportive for that.
Hi Pamela,
I agree with you that work/school is going to change. The non-fruits of the no-imagination labor are now coming to roost. Without new ideas born of unfettered imagination a society starts to stagnate. Great that you can “do the work I love the way I want.” Making folks do things the ways others want doesn’t have a good track record in this world. Here’s to creative support! Appreciate the visit. G.
Hi Giulietta, How I’d like to strangle that teacher and others like her who literally strangle their students’ imaginations.
In my case, I was fortunate enough to encounter encouragement. The only negative came from other people who accused me of exaggerating, embellishing facts, or making up stories.
The Bronte sisters’ imaginations were a product of their time and place. They were well-read in the Classics and 19th century literature and poetry, which must have influenced them in ways such as introducing romance (think Byron and Shelley) – albeit vicariously – into their lives. They let their imaginations run wild in their bleak Yorkshire surroundings and that mixture of isolation, frustrated romance, and overflowing imagination produced wonders. Believe me, I know. Similar to the Brontes, I did some of my best writing, a historical romance, when I was an invalid, a recluse in a Tijuana apartment. In isolation, my imagination also ran riot. In later versions, I tried to tame the story, but the original was so much stronger that I left most of it.
Having an imagination is a great gift and the whole world has benefited not only from the imaginations of artists and writers, but also from inventors such as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Bill Gates, etc.
Last blog post: The Home of Yesterday vs. the Home of Today
Penelope,
These brilliant sentences of yours reveal the secret, “Similar to the Brontes, I did some of my best writing, a historical romance, when I was an invalid, a recluse in a Tijuana apartment. In isolation, my imagination also ran riot.”
Our imagination needs space and desire to create. Today, the experts seem to think children need to have their minds crammed with info from every angle.
We need to make room to create in our minds. I love silence. It’s hard at first because of all the noise, then I find it very sensory-provoking.
Thx! G.
Giulietta, I love the image of you leading a gang of third-graders laughing. Such a radical activity for kids! Sadly, I’m afraid it really is. I’m also enjoying the discussion about technology versus doing things the old-fashioned way. Just had lunch with a student who talked about cutting and pasting text on the computer. I told her my favorite way to do it is by actually cutting and taping a physical manuscript. Something about seeing it and feeling it that makes it come alive for me.
Hi Charlotte,
Laughing is making a comeback here and there – yet most of it is not spontaneous. Most of my best life memories involve hilarious laughter.
I’m with you on the physical act of putting a manuscript together. For years, I wrote on pen and pad and the stuff that poured onto the page startled me. When I’m writing and it feels a bit drab, I too whip out the paper. You’re right that something about the physical connection – the body to the mind and soul – fuels the imagination.
Thx for stopping by! G.
Great tips!
I’m a fan of writing with the left hand – and mirror writing with the left hand – to see what comes out when I’m forced to slow down the pace and write like my inner child.
I’m also a fan of having a very quiet house so I can hear myself think and feel. Some visitors to my home have remarked they would go crazy without some noise but UGH! hearing the TV, blabbering radio or even good music incessantly is death to my internal life.
When I need some white noise to block out the incessant snow-blowers, lawn mowers and tree-cutters in our neighborhood so I can focus on my creativity, I play a favorite MP3 of soothing ocean noises.
Thanx for another thought-provoking post!
~ Milli
Hi Milli,
What a cute name for your web site. I will stop by to see where Milliver plans to travel.
You’re on to something about the noise. Who can think and feel their own thoughts with the constant noise pollution? Everything is getting louder. Someone I know went to a “silence retreat” recently. Will get more info and perhaps write about it.
Best wishes for fun travels, G.
Giulietta,
Beautifully captured…. Being imaginative or different in any aspect is not really something that gets rewarded in school….any part of the globe.
I’m teaching a second grade class…. and I see these kids almost in their world, driving an imaginary car when you are teaching prepositions :)….. Or a pulling a girl’s pigtails when the maths worksheet has been handed to them….
And I wonder how long it will it is before schools kill the spirit of these free-flying independent minded little ones…
I myself went terribly wrong with this one kid in particular; thankfully…I rectified that before it was too late… Read this if you get the time…
http://tranquilchaos.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/being-pranay/
Love,
Chaitra
Hi Chaitra,
I’m fascinated to hear the imagination is thwarted all over the world, not just in the US. Maybe it’s associated with the wildness in children that adults seem to fear. The more I think about it wildness=aliveness and when it gets stamped out of folks, they may come to see it as an abnormal state we need to punish/drug away.
Hopefully, we will have a world-wide celebration of the imagination — it’s key to moving us onto a different plane of existence.
Let me read your piece. It’s good you are a teacher — the kids have some hope! Thx, G.
I love my quiet zones … I intersperse them throughout the day.
J.D. you are one forward thinking person. Quiet zones is a great term. I can now see it in the world — a business that just offers a quiet space, away from the hubbub. Thx.
j.