On The Human Imagination
A curious thing keeps happening to me, almost every day in fact…
I’ll all of a sudden become hyper-aware of my ‘double life’ - the one I live in reality and the other one inside of my own head. The story of what happens in my daily life, it seems, is as real as what actually happens in physical reality; sometimes even more so!
The human imagination, I can’t help thinking, may well be both a gift and a curse. A gift because it allows us to colourfully predict future scenarios, reimagine the past and, indeed, invent our most special moments here and now. A curse because highly imaginative people can, in many ways, manipulate reality in unhelpful (or even harmful) ways for themselves and others.
Let’s unpack this a little bit further…
Imagine the potential we have these days, as creatives, as artists and as professionals of many kinds, to create and share our stories. With a tiny investment only, a gorgeous website, online advertisements, certifications, Instagram pages etc are all possible.
One could become a high quality (looking) anything in just a few days. Photography and film-making these days is also cheap and easy, requiring only a free app on any smart phone. Regardless of one’s real life skill or actual experience in that domain, viewers are greeted with a highly visual, colourful and expert portrayal of a person’s life.
As the saying goes, ‘everyone’s an artist these days’ - and in many ways it’s true. And so these things of substance - our integrity, experiences, practiced skills, useful every day knowledge, in person communication and durability as a person or an artist - can become secondary; largely, I would argue, to the disappointment of our communities, families and ultimately ourselves.
Indeed, before imagining and, in turn, creating such strong stories of ourselves, we’d better establish the real life version to some extent first. We’ll get found out one way or another anyhow. It might take a month or just a few days, but without the ‘reps’ of real life our imagined selves never quite seem to hold up.
This could be why there are so many millions of therapists, life coaches, yoga teachers, musicians and artists out there, battling to survive as the working version of their identities. Ultimately, those that have put in the genuine 10,000 hours of real practice will make it, or quickly discover that it’s not who they REALLY are deep down.
Either way it’s a victory for themselves and the world, to have met real life authentically, and to have paid the consequences for it (positively or negatively). Reality, you see, gives us the REAL feedback we need as creative individuals; the imagination, instead, can easily hide away from or distract it.
I’ve lost count of the number of highly skilled and down to earth individuals I’ve met who’ve sincerely never thought to brand, promote or even reveal themselves as that thing that they continue to do with skill, effortlessness and grace. Equally, I know of a ton of people (including myself at times) whose imaginations and, in turn, their lived identities far outweigh their experiences and trained abilities in those things.
Some of them manage to ‘fake it until they make it’ (and eventually get the skills to back it up); other struggle and strive constantly, and never seem to realise that their day to day practice simply doesn’t match up with their Instagram account, fancy business cards or website. The great masters of past and present, I notice, were always students in fact; students of life, of their teachers and various practices. Their day to day grind was always greater than the ideas and stories that were made of those days.
In the end, the autobiography or exhibition was an unintended consequence of their influence and mastery, and I dare say they’d have been just as happy without it.
This is an important point, I believe, that we shouldn’t forget.
Enough condemning of the creatives for now though; we have an imagination for good reason after all, and we’d be far less capable without it. Like everything, it’s a matter of dosage or even discipline one might say - to manifest ideas and worlds outside of one’s everyday reality is a powerful skill, but it should be contained and managed effectively.
Eat enough broccoli and it will also kill you. Point being: you can absolutely-definitely have too much of a good thing (especially if it’s REALLY good). One of the best (and most simple) tools I’ve come across, for example, is the ‘Great Ideas’ List. It takes 5-10mins only and helps one to let loose on their random and exciting inspirations, ideas and dreams. What’s more, because it’s prescribed with a paper and pen, there’s zero chance of the wild and distracting tangents that often result from other technological tools and platforms.
It’s difficult to research and manifest one’s future via youtube or Instagram, for example, without falling into rabbit holes of various kinds that can easily consume your entire afternoon. So again… we’re looking for imagination, but in a controlled way.
It’s been said that creative people need structure, while more academics and/or organisational types require more freedom, in order to bring the best out of themselves. Basing ourselves on our ‘weaknesses’ or, rather, acknowledging that we might have too much of a good thing within ourselves, helps us to thrive and to sustain our powers effectively over the course of a lifetime.
It’s sad, after all, when one meets musicians bored of their own music, artists tired by their own ambitions or ‘fat chefs’ that over-consume their own delicious menu. So take a small plate with you to life’s all-you-can-eat-buffet; there’ll always be another moment to return, and something delicious awaiting you each and every time.
This ‘Goldilocks’ zone (neither too imaginative or too organised) is the ‘moving event’, the emergent quality of life as a practice. Never are we THERE. Never have we figured ourselves out, or the world, or each other. To imagine a new and better way ‘to be’ is a remarkable (and transcendent) quality we’ve developed as a human species, but only through real-world situations and, in turn, feedback can our ideas become integrated into daily life.
For this there are certain practical necessities required and often very unimaginative ones at that! Think tax forms, visas, insurances, contracts, banking apps, daily planners, certifications, registration forms etc. It’s not fun for (almost) anyone but we need it to some degree, even if it’s just to (literally) pay the bills.
I’m passionately resistant to almost all forms of bureaucracy yet, when life’s forced me into better practicing those parts of myself, both my everyday life AND my creative practices have benefitted!
So here’s to the Human Imagination - it’s wonders as well as it’s weaknesses. I wish you a wonderful ride through all that it entails…
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