Imagine

Oct 18, 2008 08:21


As a child I was the archetypal dreamer. Whenever possible I would sit alone on the school bus, gazing out the window. I never caused trouble in school, except for failing to pay attention.

The imaginary playmates of early childhood persisted into my teens, taking the form of chivalrous adventurers. The worlds of C.S. Lewis and Ursula K. LeGuin ( Read more... )

imagination, childhood, religion, internet, christian fundamentalism, creativity, technology

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Comments 11

estherandmia October 18 2008, 13:28:18 UTC
what a wonderful image! thanks so much for sharing!

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vaneramos October 18 2008, 13:40:29 UTC
You're welcome. My little river can be so enchanting and inspiring.

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artricia October 18 2008, 17:00:03 UTC
This entry is hitting me very hard.

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vaneramos October 18 2008, 17:20:37 UTC
You are in the midst of one of life's most creative acts, initiating a new human. Please, don't be too hard on yourself. But I imagine you feel you have no time or energy for certain things that matter to you. Is that what you mean?

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artricia October 18 2008, 18:39:18 UTC
Sorry to have been so vague -- these days, I aim just to get the thought out as quickly as possible in case I don't have time to get it out at all.

What I mean is that I've let technology rule me. It's something I've struggled with (or more accurately, suffered from) for a long time. I think the internet has become a way for me to procrastinate on all kinds of important things. Sometimes, it's certainly something I need to cut myself some slack on -- graduate school and motherhood have both been fairly isolating (motherhood less so, believe it or not).

At this point, I can't remember if there was more that the entry jogged in me. But it's a wise entry, direct and well-written.

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vaneramos October 18 2008, 20:17:08 UTC
Okay, I understand better. Thanks for the comment, and keep up the good fight.

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inishglora October 18 2008, 17:03:40 UTC
That image is evocative of The Lady of Shalott.

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vaneramos October 18 2008, 17:24:34 UTC
I love Loreena McKennitt's version of that. I also get hit in the gut every time I read something by Mary Oliver.

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daoi October 18 2008, 22:48:48 UTC
I was so much like that as a child. These days it literally feels like my head is too hard inside when I try to imagine those kinds of things in depth. I find myself practicing at it though.

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vaneramos October 19 2008, 19:22:34 UTC
I hope it has more to do with habit than simply growing up.

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daoi October 20 2008, 21:14:11 UTC
Hope so too. I'm preferring to view it as a muscle that needs to be flexed to grow strong. They say that about the brain, at least. I don't know if I'm already too full of facts and grown up things.

But Jim Henson says: "As children, we all live in a world of imagination, of fantasy, and for some of us that world of make-believe continues into adulthood."

I want to believe I can be that.

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