It is the marriage of the soul with Nature
that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination.
Did you ever arise in the morning thinking about what faced you and then plodded through the rest of the day? If you allow yourself to, you can become an automaton. Many adults do it. Maybe that is why we have road rage and surliness in our daily life experience. Do you remember when you were a child and woke up wondering what adventures awaited you that day? Just because we are adults does not mean we have to jump on a treadmill rather than using our imaginations.
It seems hard for most of us to find a balance. Some of us rigidly plod along the path we think is expected of us, doing our duty but giving no thought to how we could enjoy the journey. Others are dreamers, following our flights of fancy but sometimes not tending to our obligations. Sometimes we follow a course set for us by others without thinking. Sometimes we stop to set our own course. Reaching a compromise between duty and imagination isn’t easy.
Is there a middle ground? Maybe there doesn’t have to be one for everybody. There is room in the world for its dreamers, plodders and everyone in between. Some of us become famous artists, learning how to portray our universe in a way which allows the rest of us a fresh perspective. Others see it as their duty to do the things which have to be done so that others can be free to do what they want to do. My Uncle Bob took the latter course, but did so cheerfully.
How do we compromise between duty and imagination? One way would be to divide our time between meeting our responsibilities and having fun. Many people take this approach. Still there are others who always bring their work home with them and yet others who never get serious.
Another way to approach the issue is to find creative ways to do what needs doing. Meeting our expectations in a joyless manner is not much fun. Consider Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and what his day was like. Even worse were his times of solitude after work. Then consider Owen Meany in John Irving’s novel A Prayer for Owen Meany. Owen lived a very creative and fascinating life despite many serious limitations.
Although these writings offer examples of extremes, we all have the choice to put some creativity into our everyday tasks, or adventures if we choose to look at them as such. What it takes is imagination. Rather than approaching something tediously and looking forward to the end of our task, we can ask ourselves the question “What if…?” and let our imaginations wander to ways in which our obligations can become adventures.
Action Steps
- Decide what is the most boring part of your life?
- Imagine ways you can make it more interesting.
- List the tasks you most dread.
- Think about how you could make them adventures.
- Invite others to help you make your relationships more interesting.
Selection from my book, Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections for the Voyage. Available from Amazon