By: Hettie Basil Lighttower

Do you have an imagination? What about when you were in grade school? Or in preschool age….or kindergarten? What did/do you experience with imagination? If you answered “NO” to any of these first three questions then you need to continue reading. If you answered “YES to any of these first three questions then you should continue reading. (Smile) Some of us had imaginary friends, or still do have, imaginary conversation with a pet or a tree or house plants or even ourselves. Raise your hand if you are one of those people. Maybe you do art. Or perhaps write, or play music or teach or build houses or websites or solve cases or put in a garden or are simply raising children. Any and all of those activities and many more require some imagination which is extended and translates into creativity.
What exactly is imagination and what does it mean to have one? I looked up the word so I could give some derivatives. I found “faculty of the mind that formulates images”. PERFECT!! It is from the Latin word imago which means “image or imitation”. And in Old French “concept, mental picture” from imaginacion. By the way, that Latin word imago is not to be confused with the Mexican word amigo meaning friend. Try to stay focused here. But first one more detour…..imago is also the true scientific word for the adult phase of the butterfly or moth!!! Ova(egg), larva(worm haha aka caterpillar), pupa(chrysalis or cocoon) and imago(adult aka moth or butterfly). See, now YOU just used YOUR imagination and pictured a butterfly in your head didn’t you? And also had probably used your imagination to picture a Mexican guy with a big hat crouched by a wall taking a nap or talking to his amigo three sentences back. Do you see how easy it is to use your imagination! It’s not just for kids.
It’s no surprise to me that the adult scientific name for butterfly is imago. It makes perfect sense. Because, I can use MY imagination and picture a caterpillar crawling around and eating its green not so sweet and sometimes dry leaves and getting really bored and tired of it day in and day out. Just the same old plant, the same old flavor. I mean would you eat just spinach all day every day for all of your life? Nothing to see here! All the while it uses its imagination that its life could be different. The caterpillar might say, “I imagine,” using its faculty of the mind to formulate an image, “that I could have a better life and fly anywhere I wish to go. I would drink from the sweetest flowers or the ripest fruits and the coolest stream or saltiest mud puddle and never chew another leaf again!” And then one day it takes a break and suspends itself and uses its imaginal cells(real cells in the caterpillar that create it into a new creature) and becomes THE IMAGO. Isn’t it cool that a caterpillar has imaginal cells which instill metamorphosis which means complete change??!! We could use this example of the caterpillar and use our imagination to create a whole new life for ourselves or just simply bask in possibilities to create something new. Maybe you just want to paint your bedroom a new color. Use your imagination and see yourself in a freshly clean painted room! Whatever you can use your imagination for; improve your life. Do that. Don’t stay stuck eating the same spinach all your life.
Ok, so let’s talk about you and your imagination. I started to get too excited about mine there for a paragraph. (FYI: You cannot get too excited about your imagination.) Were you happier as a child when you used your imagination? What is stopping you today from using your imagination? Do you think it is only for children? It is not. It actually is a huge tool for success and so is play by the way. I have friends that go into corporate settings and talk to stiff necks about how to bring play into play and how it creates a real space for your mind to heal from your daily grind. Once you heal and learn to manage balance in your daily grind your neck will loosen up and no more stiff neck or shoulders. Everyone needs this whether you knew that or have ever been told that or not. You can create just as much happiness now for yourself as you did when you were a youngster when using your imagination. That is where creativity begins. Creativity is putting your imagination into action. Action changes things.
Think about the word creativity for a moment. Creator, Creation, Creativity. Do you believe we have a Creator? He/she used their imagination to make us in his/her image! The image of God is a whole other column…. But for now, just imagine that if we are in the image of our creator and trying to be like our creator, don’t you think it is healthy to be creating things as well? That starts with imagination.
As always feel free to send in your notions and comments to [email protected]. I will include them in the next available column as per their arrival relative to the publication deadline of Tuesday by 12 p.m. of the same week. If you wish to be anonymous, let me know. Kindness is contagious~*