Come, let us imagine!
By Katrina Hidalgo
What is imagination?
Merriam-Webster defines it as a noun,
1. : the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality
2. a: creative ability
b: ability to confront and deal with a problem: Resourcefulness
c: the thinking or active mind: Interest
3. a: a creation of the mind especially: an idealized or poetic creation
b: fanciful or empty assumption
It is also synonymous to contrivance, creativity, fancy, fantasy, ideation, imaginativeness, invention, inventiveness, originality. Phew! Luckily, nowadays, I do not have to get that big and bulky dictionary with index tabs on the side just to get the definition! If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you would probably remember getting a workout from taking this in and out of the shelf!
I am not a trained writer, but I suppose imagination is an important skill to sharpen when it comes to writing. I have read that there are even different types of imagination. Personally, when I think of the word imagination, the definition is more nostalgic. I am reminded of my childhood days when there is a lot of imagination that takes place during play. Quoting from the Harvard Business Review, “Sometimes nothing immediately comes out of play, but playing at least allows us to practice imagining, improvising, and being open to inspiration—all important skills when navigating the unknown.”
It may also be because I am a Preschool Teacher, I get to witness it every day. Let me give you some examples when I see imagination at work when children:
· Use blocks to make all sorts of stuff.
· Take the core of a toilet roll (the cylindrical cardboard in the middle) and use it as a telescope.
· Use things like saga seeds or “aratilis” and use it for pretend cooking.
· Put a toy fish in a bowl and say it is “fish soup”.
· Use hibiscus flowers (gumamela) and use it to make “bubbles”.
· Put a long towel on the head and pretend that it is “long hair”.
· Use a long twig and pretend it is a sword.
· Pretend they are one of the characters of their favorite shows (I used to pretend I was one of the care bears)
· Tell stories that are funny and out-of-this-world!
· Become so engrossed in books even without pictures.
· Write simple letters on Mother/Father’s Day that evoke poignant emotions.
Truly, the list goes on for children! They are probably the most imaginative bunch I have ever encountered. As for adults, I see imagination at work when they:
· Meditate and think of places like the beach, park, woods, stream, etc.
· Rehearse how they can say things more appropriately to a person as if the person is already in front of them.
· Practice a speech or performance in front of an empty hall or stage,
· Find a legitimate shortcut to do something.
· Turn a traditional recipe into fusion.
· Come up with new technology like the iPod when Apple was losing revenue at that time.
· Come together and create a vaccine for Covid-19 and move forward towards a new normal.
· Put thoughts on paper whether it becomes a book, essay, article, blog, comic strip, research, poetry, etc.
I am now convinced that imagination is one of the key ingredients to writing and growing as a person. I think we should take time to tap the little children in us, so we remember how it was to imagine when we were playing. With this, we can transfer this imaginativeness into our writing and adulting. Remember the famous imagination quote by Albert Einstein?
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” -Albert Einstein, What Life Means to Einstein (1924)
Come, let us imagine!
Katrina Hidalgo is an aspiring positive Psychologist who loves journaling, coloring and taking loooong walks. She has been based in Singapore for 14 years as a Pre-school teacher.
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