When I was little, I often overheard parents, family and other adults comment to each other that I seemed to have an "overactive imagination."
Leaves on snow... like sails of tiny ships on a white ocean
It's a characterization that has followed me through most of my life-- whether it's been associated with my fondness for speculative fiction or thinking about the possibilities of the future of humanity... or simply discussions about what might fit within the realm of the possible.
The other day, I even had someone say it when I was talking about the possibility that cryptocurrencies might hold the future to how we handle money and finances.
"Overactive Imagination."
Golden orb... a sap bubble on a branch
Now, I suppose that I should add that those who would describe me thusly tend to be very "conventional" people. You know, the kinds who don't take risks, don't challenge the accepted way of doing things and believe the world would just be better off if everyone just did "what they were supposed" to, without question or independent thought.
But I'm always willing to examine other perspectives and hearing these words did give me momentary pause for thought, as I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in a world without imagination.
Of course, that's an oxymoron, right out of the box... as I have to "imagine" the unimaginable.
Most likely, we wouldn't be anywhere without imagination, as invention and innovation is all driven by imagination... someone "theoretically" thinks up something in their head, and then it is turned into some kind of experiment, and then-- perhaps-- it becomes part of our cultural landscape.
Which leads me to the next consideration:
Of course, naysayers don't really want to live lives without imagination.
They will point out that their issue is the word "overactive." With the attendant implication that I spend to much time in the realm of "possibilities," rather than the realm of reality.
Fall apples in the sun
In general, the real issue is that these good folks get nervous when confronted with "flights of fancy" that might disturb their established comfort zones. A lot of people legitimately don't like change... and to them, those with "overactive imaginations" represent change which, in turn, represents discomfort. And inconvenience. And perhaps expense.
There are times in my life when I have been part of that... for example, I was one of the last people in my circle of friends to get a CD player; resistant to the idea that my 300 vinyl LPs would become "worthless" as soon as I bought a CD player, and I would have to go to the expense of buying the same music, all over again. Unthinkable!
There's an old truism that goes something like "Nothing grows in Comfort Zones" and I believe there may be some elements of truth to that.
We need imagination-- and sometimes overactive imaginations-- to bring the previously unthinkable to the table. It's how we pull ourselves forward; it's how the current status quo gets replaced with a new (and hopefully better!) one. Absent imagination-- even if it makes some quite uncomfortable-- we would just stay in place and never progress. Think about this one: Were it not for some imaginative thinking, a community like Steemit would never have come into being!
What do YOU think? Have you ever been told you have an overactive imagination? If so, do you think that's a bad thing? Do you agree that our progress as a species springs from imaginative thinking? Or do you think it is something else? Do you think most "creative geniuses" have overactive imaginations? Can you visualize a life without imagination? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
THIS POST... carries the tag #discussion and is part of @timcliff's initiative to develop more engaging and discussion worthy content on Steemit. To learn more about this initiative, you can read the original post here and become a participant!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 170929 21:55 PDT
