Without imagination and the ability to dream the human race would have become extinct before it even got going. The world would be a very different place, some would say better, some would say far worse, but we wouldn’t be here in order to have an opinion one way or another and we certainly wouldn’t be sharing those thoughts across an internet!
Imagination
The ability to imagine things that don’t exist, to believe you can do things that have never been done before, to solve problems that seem impossible to solve, to cure illness, to build bridges, to ride horses across the plains of Africa, to fly into space and to land on the moon. None of this would be possible if we didn’t first imagine and then believe in our dreams.
Modern Storytelling
Storytellers have always been seen as entertaining, popular and intriguing. In the past people would gather in homes, villages and town halls to hear stories of fiction or embellished truths, in more recent years these storytellers came into our houses in the form of newspapers, magazines and television programmes. People still gather in cinemas, theatres and auditoriums to hear stories, while in homes, schools and workplaces across the globe, individuals avidly follow the latest blogging sensation, celebrities and friends in the hope of being the first to hear something or see something that others haven’t seen or heard.
Giving each one of us the opportunity to be a storyteller, to be someone that people listen to; to have friends, followers, fans!!
Books
However, do these modern snippets of information, the social media posts, the facts or embellished truths passed from person to person, grow our imagination?
Marketeers believe that these tiny glimpses into other people lives (real or otherwise) encourage people to imagine, dream and aspire (often to buy a product or service that the believe with improve their lives), but is this the same as the childlike imagination that’s so important for our development?
No.
The imagination we are born with needs to be developed and most young children are lucky enough to start life being read stories that tell them that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! We learn to differentiate between what is real and what is not, but if a story is well written then there is nothing that will suggest what seems unbelievable, could actually come true. Children who read books and lose themselves in a story don’t automatically think that characters can buy themselves out of situations and it’s often the underdog that triumphs, not the one that is the most popular or who has the best trainers.
This is why it’s so important to keep reading fabulous stories, stories or hope, wonder, difficulties and triumph. These stories can be based on real life experiences, but I prefer it when the characters aren’t real but have to be imagined by the reader and the story isn’t limited by a simple lack of imagination .
Help develop our future scientists, olympians, writers, artists and entertainers by joining the Forelock Books challenge to read 500 words per day, throughout March.
Business with Personality 