Imagination is Priceless - Issue #15
Unimaginative people...
...are boring. But worse than that, they are selfish, self-satisfied, fearful, and all too ready to hand over their power to government and the opinions of experts. They are selfish because they cannot walk in another person's shoes for a mile. You have to have imagination to do that. They are self-satisfied because they have no higher aspirations of growth. You have to have imagination for that. They are fearful because they can't see anything other than the worst-case scenario. You have to have imagination for that kind of vision. They hand over their right to self-determination because they believe whatever the government and experts tell them because they cannot find the holes in the official narrative. You have to have imagination to see alternative options.
I give you the great baby formula shortage as exhibit A. We have a formula shortage because of a heavy and unnecessary regulatory burden which deters more companies from getting into the business of making formula and also prevents us from getting good-quality formula from oversees. Consequently, we have basically three major companies making formula in the United States. Due to an FDA shutdown of one company's plant which turns out to be completely unnecessary (and remains unopened regardless), we now have a big problem.
But human imagination to the rescue!
There's a way to make homemade formula.
Our grandmothers and their mothers have been making it for years.
But hold up!
The experts are now weighing in.
Homemade formula is dangerous for babies! (Insert scary music.)
Imaginative people will chuck the "experts" advice in the dust bin and feed their hungry babies in the best, most nutritious way they can given the circumstances. Perhaps one especially imaginative mother will do a crash course in the specific and precise nutritional requirements of baby formula, improve upon the old wisdom of our grandmothers, and teach an entire generation of moms how to do it right. Perhaps another imaginative individual will become inspired to destroy the burdensome regulatory system that has caused this problem to begin with. But a good many people will continue to freak out and wring their hands because they have no imagination and can't think beyond what the government and the experts say.
Homemade formula "could lead to nutritional deficiencies and death," say the helpful little experts. You know what else leads to that? Starvation.
God gave us this faculty
Imagination comes from God and I believe he expects us to use it. It can, quite literally, be the difference between life and death.
And that's why I feel so strongly about this topic. That's why it does my heart good to watch children in imaginative play...making their own fun up as they go along without relying on adults to come up with some activity for them.
As I was thinking about this, I had a sudden memory of an article I wrote on just this topic back in 2013 or 14 for a blog I contributed to. It's called, "Imagine," and on Wednesday, I intend to republish that article on my own blog. I will send an email alert to all of you fine subscribers via GetRevu so that you can read as soon as it's available. To wet your whistle, here's a short excerpt:
When I was older, we moved away to the city. I noticed a curious thing. The children in my neighborhood seemed bored and boring. They spent their summers indoors for the most part or at the Y for swimming lessons. When my brother wanted to play with the neighbor boys, he had to coax them away from their video games, which they wanted to play every waking minute. Nothing seemed to amaze or shock them. They had their imaginations shaped by TV and pop culture. One young girl tried to convince me to loan her a large sum of money. When I asked why, she said she wanted the money for a pair of tennis shoes that were all the rage. That I could not understand. Thank God, I couldn’t understand. These children walked around the neighborhood (when they walked which wasn’t often) with music piped into their ears. Even when they were outside, they couldn’t hear the birds singing or relish the sun beyond the fact that it might give them a cool tan. Many of their parents hovered around them night and day, providing endless activities and “options.” “They need to experience many things so they know what they’re interested in,” they’d say. Consequently, many of these children never became good at anything. At precisely the moment one new thing became hard, which is when they should have pushed through the learning curve, they quit and tried something else. Their mothers shielded their eyes from looking at the news clips of violence in the Middle East and then happily sent them off to watch the newest Harry Potter movie filled with “safer” CGI violence.
God intervenes
Into the imagination-deprived society of 27, God injected one person. Jessica (God sees)--a frail, wisp of a girl with a limp. In her quiet, unassuming insistence on truth, her love of beauty, and her imagination, she turned the city upside down.
And that is why I am not a pessimist. I thought up Jessica's character because I know that God intervenes. He places imaginative people where there are none but mindless drones. He wakes slumbering souls back to life and beauty. There is always hope of a resurrection.
Before closing, here are some of Jessica's thoughts:
Jessica grasped his arm and her eyes shone as she spoke.
“How can you know what pure goodness is when you have never seen it before in anyone? If there is such a thing as goodness that we know exists but we have never seen before, then somewhere in this vast universe, there is a being who personifies it and a place that is perfection...s”
“Maybe you’re right,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “I think you must be good, whatever you say about yourself.”
“Only a little,” she said, shaking her head. “And that all comes from…it comes from God.”
He helped her up and steered her back to the bridge.
“And what is God?” he asked.
She stared at him a moment and then opened her mouth.
“Perfection. But so much more. And even better than that.”
Until next time, folks...
