Why have we been given the gift of ‘Imagination’?

Imagination is the mind’s ability to construct a pattern beyond the present. Human beings have been given this power to conduct their lives with creativity, to create things on the planet. Instead, we use it to create stress, anxiety, insecurity, and fear. We use imagination to read between the lines, and, as a result, we don’t take people at face value. What is meant to be a gift to be used for innovation has now become a negative force in our lives. We imagine all kinds of untoward situations and misuse this gift.

Imagination is what separates human beings from animals. We lack the strength, speed, and fortitude of the animal kingdom, but we have imagination, which is why a man can fashion a trap to capture his food, while an animal cannot. But we don’t use it for that; instead, we use it to trap fellow human beings.

The other misuse of the power of imagination is when we dream of doing things but eventually do nothing about those dreams. For example, I imagine a home for orphan children. But what do I do about it? Do I simply keep imagining it for the next ten years or do I turn it into a reality by finding a property, fixing it up, getting the children, and, finally, finding a matron to look after them. So if I make it a deliberate thought and a deliberate action, my imagination turns into reality. But if I simply imagine that every child on this planet will have a home, then it will remain a thing of great imagination, without a deliberate thought or an action behind it.

So let’s be creative and innovative with imagination. Let us be deliberate with it and not let it be an instrument to create stress, anxiety, insecurity, and fear.