When did you stop imagining?

We didn't dream about becoming an astronaut because it was productive. We did it because it was fun. There were no boundaries or limitations. What was one of your biggest dreams as a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up? If you played with dolls or trucks or blocks, what were your favorite stories to play out? We were allowed to dream of possibility without having to rationalize it. Then there were adults who told us to stop. That focusing on important things like trigonometry and naming all of the bones in our body was more productive than dreaming.

Not to say that education isn't important, but when did it become MORE important than using our imagination?

Most of us have lost the ability to pretend. In many cases our creativity comes from learned, cultural behaviors and trained process rather than the untamed, uncontrolled, pretend mind-state. When we play with kids, we have a few blissful moments remembering what it was like to think without inhibition. Without rules. Some grown ups crave this time. Others find it boring and don't enjoy it at all. I wonder, did the haters dislike playing as a kid, too? Or did they lose it along the way?

I decided after a glass of wine one night, that I was going to have a little experiment. That I was going to pretend my life. I grabbed a doll (yes, I still have a stash of my childhood dolls in my garage) and started using my imagination to not reenact, but act out a story that resembled my own. I allowed myself to take this imaginary story anywhere I wanted to, without judgment. As I did this, I realized how many boundaries I had formed to function in society. How to use my fork properly. How to follow made-up rules for the sake of having a rule. How to say yes when everything inside of me was screaming NO. It was really, really hard to let go and truly pretend. I found when I tried to think of the wildest things, I kept pulling myself back. I got frustrated. It got me wondering, at what point in my life did all of these boundaries start to turn into a prison? And even worse - a prison that I became comfortable living inside of?

If you don't have a doll, grab a fork. Grab a bottle of wine (you may need it). Imagine whatever item you hold is representing you and pretend your life's story. Do you like the story that unfolds? Is it easy to tell the story or hard? And if you really let your imagination go, really let yourself go to a child-like state without boundaries, where does the story lead? If it goes to a negative place and you get frustrated, remember...

You're creating this story and it can take any turn you want at any time, if you choose. Maybe pretending isn't as far off from real life as we imagine it to be?

Cheers to remembering who you were,

realizing who you are,

and discovering who you want to be.