Imagineers
Imagineers....the term that Walt Disney created to refer to his animation and creativity experts who helped him with his films as well as the theme park designs. I think it's an awfully cute little nickname, don't you? I'd love to have the job title of an "imagineer." It has the scholarly aptitude-sound to it in that it ends with the same "neer" as "engineer," but the "imagin" part at the beginning exudes creativity and right-brained qualities.
I remember seeing Sesame Street characters tell me at the tender age of three...."Use your imagination." It didn't take me long to start doing so, even before I fully understood what the word actually meant. I was the kid who picked pinecones, berries, holly leaves, pebbles, and dandelions, only to combine them together with water to create a heavenly "woodland stew" to "serve" to my neighborhood friends.
I recall a big pile of sand behind our house in Greensboro, stacks and stacks of tiny clay flower pots standing alongside it. I proceeded to scoop up rounds of wet sand and plop them onto the pots, placing a tiny red berry on top....voila, an "ice cream cone" that I "sold" to my friends who came by.
I imagined my banana-seat bicycle was a powerful stallion in the desert....I imagined my dolls came to life and talked to each other whenever I left the room....I imagined that styrofoam molded box fillers were elaborate yachts on which Barbie could go on long vacations within my neighbor's swimming pool. I imagined that a sheet over my head was a wedding veil, and the sunset was literally hand-painted by God each night with His big palate of watercolors.
The sad thing is this: Imagination often vanishes with age. As we grow older, we are told to write more and more non-fiction in our school papers. We are told to read journals and newspapers instead of burying our noses in science-fiction novels or classic literature. We are told to focus on real-world problem solving instead of dreaming of what could be.
I believe we all have creativity inside of us. Yes, some have more than others, but everyone has some. Those who say they don't have "one creative bone in their bodies" are probably just victims of creativity suppression, probably at the prodding of a parent or teacher to "grow up."
What a boring world this would be without color....and what a boring society we would be without creativity. I have found that it's natural and normal to imagine....to put our imagination to work in order to transport us to another time and place, even just for a little while. It makes life more enjoyable, it makes our surroundings more beautiful, it makes our moods lighter, and our sanity a little more intact.
Be creative today. What can you do to breed imagination into every aspect of your day? Change things up a little bit. Go see a movie you want to see, not one people tell you that you ought to see. Read a book you've had lying there for years. Take a long walk....even during a rainshower....and imagine you are a part of something bigger....cause you are. This earth and all it holds are just a drop of dust compared to the bounty of what God has created for us to experience in eternity.
There is no sense in letting ourselves get bogged down by the mundaneness of everyday life....make it an adventure instead. Look for the good in others, in everything. And happily accept the title of an "imagineer." Once you own that title, your whole outlook changes, and inspirations seem to burst forth out of hidden places.
I remember seeing Sesame Street characters tell me at the tender age of three...."Use your imagination." It didn't take me long to start doing so, even before I fully understood what the word actually meant. I was the kid who picked pinecones, berries, holly leaves, pebbles, and dandelions, only to combine them together with water to create a heavenly "woodland stew" to "serve" to my neighborhood friends.
I recall a big pile of sand behind our house in Greensboro, stacks and stacks of tiny clay flower pots standing alongside it. I proceeded to scoop up rounds of wet sand and plop them onto the pots, placing a tiny red berry on top....voila, an "ice cream cone" that I "sold" to my friends who came by.
I imagined my banana-seat bicycle was a powerful stallion in the desert....I imagined my dolls came to life and talked to each other whenever I left the room....I imagined that styrofoam molded box fillers were elaborate yachts on which Barbie could go on long vacations within my neighbor's swimming pool. I imagined that a sheet over my head was a wedding veil, and the sunset was literally hand-painted by God each night with His big palate of watercolors.
The sad thing is this: Imagination often vanishes with age. As we grow older, we are told to write more and more non-fiction in our school papers. We are told to read journals and newspapers instead of burying our noses in science-fiction novels or classic literature. We are told to focus on real-world problem solving instead of dreaming of what could be.
I believe we all have creativity inside of us. Yes, some have more than others, but everyone has some. Those who say they don't have "one creative bone in their bodies" are probably just victims of creativity suppression, probably at the prodding of a parent or teacher to "grow up."
What a boring world this would be without color....and what a boring society we would be without creativity. I have found that it's natural and normal to imagine....to put our imagination to work in order to transport us to another time and place, even just for a little while. It makes life more enjoyable, it makes our surroundings more beautiful, it makes our moods lighter, and our sanity a little more intact.
Be creative today. What can you do to breed imagination into every aspect of your day? Change things up a little bit. Go see a movie you want to see, not one people tell you that you ought to see. Read a book you've had lying there for years. Take a long walk....even during a rainshower....and imagine you are a part of something bigger....cause you are. This earth and all it holds are just a drop of dust compared to the bounty of what God has created for us to experience in eternity.
There is no sense in letting ourselves get bogged down by the mundaneness of everyday life....make it an adventure instead. Look for the good in others, in everything. And happily accept the title of an "imagineer." Once you own that title, your whole outlook changes, and inspirations seem to burst forth out of hidden places.
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