Imagination

This may surprise you, but I have been accused of having an active imagination. The truth is, I cannot imagine lacking the ability to zoom off to another planet and speak with an alien leader, or have an insightful conversation with a fish. My imagination can run in multiple directions all at the same time inventing characters out of trees, flowers, stars, and even those grumpy planets that are stuck out in space with too little light and not enough warmth.

As a child I did not have an imaginary friend, I had my older brother. I actively played with dolls and figures until my younger brother was born when I was 8 and then I set aside all of that in favor of the character he would become. Was I an imaginative child? Of course, in too many ways to mention, but I also had a pragmatic and practical side. I can be mired in hard core reality, deal with the difficult things and retreat to my imagination only when there is time.

As an adult I switch back and forth all the time, but it is a bit like waking up, sometimes I resist and want to stay and play in my imagination. When the real world makes demands that can’t be ignored, I may stomp my foot, but I come back and deal with whatever happened.