Skip to main content

Your Creative Imagination

In this episode, Your Creative Imagination . . .

This week I’d like to revisit a piece we posted in May 2020; it was one of our first episodes.

Let's pretend today is your birthday; you received a gift from a loved one that’s beautifully boxed; what’s your first impulse? Would you set the box aside, “I’m busy right now; I’ll get to it later.” My guess is you would enthusiastically open the box.

Let me ask you this: What if I told you you’d had the most precious gift in your possession since birth, yet you’ve never taken the time to open the box?

I’m referring to the power of your creative imagination.

Albert Einstein summarized it best, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.”

Let’s examine our daily thoughts; what do you think about it? Seriously, are your thoughts dependent on your reaction to “what’s happening right now” situations and other people? If so, that special gift we’re discussing is not being used. And if we’re not careful, our imagination can lead us to self-destructive habits.

So let’s strive for productive habits.

It’s been said the brain has four powers; think of them as switches you can turn on and off.

Switch number:

1. The power to absorb information and knowledge.

2. The power of retention.

3. The power of making judgments.

4. The ability to think creatively.


Children, artists, writers, and musicians always use this fourth switch. They do it by simply asking questions. No worries or hesitation. Just wholesome to-the-point questions. Be careful; people are swayed by the media, friends, and neighbors daily to think negative, non-productive thoughts. Here’s how to change that.


First, you must recognize that creative ideas can come from anywhere, anytime.

  • Keep an idea file. Ideas in the early stages need to be nurtured; record your thoughts.
  • Ideas need encouragement. Treat your thoughts as seeds; plant them, nurture them.
  • Encourage creative thinking in others.
  • Creative thinking is like mining for Diamonds in the wealthiest soil. You’ll get primarily small ones, but if you stay with them, you’ll find that big one you're looking for.

So what are you waiting for - turn on switch number four.


How you ask?


Spend 15 minutes a day digging in that gold mine between your ears. Take out a sheet of paper every day and write down your thoughts. Use a bound notebook to keep them together. At first, those thoughts may be off the wall, absurd ideas. That’s okay. Capture them.


I'll bet there’s a smartphone in your pocket—an electronic notebook to record audio, video, or written text of your brilliant ideas. Okay, I get it, maybe your thoughts are not so brilliant, but if you work at it every day for just 15 minutes, you will be amazed at what you come up with. Maybe it's a song, a story, a book, or maybe a podcast. Who knows. Start with something you want. This may appear selfish at first, but this will help you form the habit of digging into your mind. By mining those thoughts, you will reach your target.


Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”


Have fun with it; open the box. Happy Birthday! Unleash the power of your creative imagination. 


Why not?


I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

The Compass of Cuba: Mom

🎄  Preview of this week's  On the Fly  blog: A Holiday Tribute to Mom. As the holidays hustle with pixels and beeps, the world scrolls along in a smartphone-y sleep. I log off for a moment—just one little minute— To breathe in the past and to sit myself in it. My mind doesn’t wander to faraway places, Or trips full of tickets and new airport faces. Instead, it drifts backward, as memories do, to Cuba, Illinois, where the best moments grew. To a home full of warmth, in the wintry Midwest, Where my mother—dear “Marcie”—put love to the test. With a smile that could melt the most frigid of dawns, and hugs that hung on you like shivering fawns. She came from La Rochelle in France, brave and bright, Across oceans and war shadows, into new light. A town full of strangers soon felt like her own, And her courage built up the foundation of home. “Oh yes, we know Marcie!” the locals would say— “It's Doc Ball’s French lady! She brightens the day!” She cleaned, and she cooked, and sh...
2 comments
Read more

Believing Is Seeing

🎄 In this episode, Believing Is Seeing . . . It's December, we bustle, we wrap, and we dash. We sort life into boxes— myths  here,  to-dos  in a stash. We whisper of Santa (adult code: “Not Real”), but hold on one minute—let’s rethink this whole deal. For the stories we cherish, the movies we stream, hold more truth in their sparkle than we grown-ups may deem. So hop in this sleigh and hold on real tight— We’re chasing down Santa by the glow of his light! Scott Calvin once landed in the North Pole’s cold air, with elves, cocoa, and snow everywhere. He squinted and frowned—“This just  cannot  be so!” (Like thinking tangled lights will detangle if we  blow .) Then Judy the Elf gave a cocoa so steaming,  and said something simple . . . yet surprisingly gleaming: Seeing’s not believing—no, that’s not the key. "Believing is seeing!"   Just trust, and  you’ll  see!” Kids don’t need a map or a satellite screen to know Santa’s workshop is her...
1 comment
Read more

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...
3 comments
Read more

Night Before Christmas

I n this episode, Night Before Christmas . . .  (In the spirit of Edgar Albert Guest) I’ve wrestled with the tangled lights the way I always do— With just enough patience left to see the project through. I climb the ladder carefully; the years have taught me how. To take my time with every step and keep a steady brow. We hang the faded ornaments I’ve known since I was small, the chipped, the cracked, the tilted ones—I love them best of all. Santa’s lost a bit of paint, the stars’ leaning right, but oh, it casts a holy glow across the room tonight. The kitchen hums with activity, with laughter, and with cheer, as voices drift like echoes from a long-forgotten year. The floor is strewn with paper scraps, the clock is ticking slow, As Christmas finds its own sweet pace and sets our house aglow. The hallway grows a little still; the lights are dimmed, and low, Small shoes are lined in messy pairs to wait for morning’s snow. The fire's warm, the room is full, the world is deep and wide,...
2 comments
Read more