PRACTICE: Daydream for a few minutes.
My husband and I were sitting under a tree on a concrete bench located in an area that we share with our next-door neighbors. We were supervising their girls. Sharing the space with the bench is an ornamental frog. To bring the energy level down, I simply asked the younger of the two girls to tell us a story about the frog. She paused, sat down in the grass, folded her legs in the lotus position, took a deep breath, centered her thoughts and began to weave the story of kittens, frogs and mommies. A little while later, she illustrated her story in our driveway with sidewalk chalk. The artwork remained for several days.
I was amazed at her use of one of the gifts that cannot be stolen from us – our imagination. She crafted a story that was uniquely hers while all around her life continued to unfold. I know this to be true because I captured part of her story on video. The soundtrack to her story is the engine of a car passing by and a conversation between me and my husband about the whereabouts of her older sister.
She paused, she breathed, she centered her thoughts and tapped into her imagination for the solution to her challenge.
“And a little child shall lead them.” The quote while out of context seems appropriate. My little four-year-old neighbor teaches a powerful lesson. An opportunity was presented to her and rather than frantically think about her lack of experience, the background noise, what she didn’t have or ask what kind of story, she released herself to her imagination.
What about you? When you are faced with an opportunity, how do you begin to address it? Do you conjure up the obstacles first? Do you let your imagination run wild to see the potential and possibilities of what could be? Do you pause? Do you take a deep breath? Do you recenter your scattered senses?
Could it be that this child’s practice might be a good one to incorporate BACK into your life? I highlight BACK because I would venture to say when you were four, your imagination was much more active than it is as an adult. Noise and life usurp the creative imagination. The urgency of quick response replaces the pause. The anxiety of the moment hinders the ability to breathe and recenter.
Revelation 3:22
PONDER THIS THOUGHT---Noise, urgency and anxiety can be robbers of creative and imaginative thoughts.
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