Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Eight
Imagination is amazing. Probably the best in the Universe as all feelings and emotion and consciousness are born of it. The physical World and the people, animals and nature are the only thing that out-cools Imagination.
As with everything in the Universe, Imagination is half light and dark. Your Imagination can conjure greatness beyond compare. Love, hope, happiness, films, paintings, architecture, physics, biology, saving planets, saving lives, science fiction, spaceships, unicorns, unicorns that fly spaceships, ii(that's my new acronym for 'Into Infinite'--meaning I could keep listing things forever).
Your Imagination can conjure fear, hate and darkness in equal measure. Murder, betrayal, car crashes, gossip, the World against you, hate, demons, blood, evil, failure, worthlessness, loneliness, apathy, ego, racism, hopelessness, ii.
The key is to keep as much focus as you can on the Light. The darkness needs to be there for balance, but it can sit way in the back in the obstructed view seats. Fear doesn't have to be part of your daily life. And shouldn't be. Bad things happen all the time, every second of every day to someone in the World, but that doesn't mean we have to live in fear of it. It becomes crippling. We deal with bad situations as they come. They will make you sad and scared and fearful, but when those emotions come, if you have a strong Imagination of the light, the one that you cultivate every day, you will be able to push those dark Images away and see a future of light, of overcoming all evil/fear/hardships that life throws at you.
Imagine that you get a call from the police. Your brother/sister has been in a car accident. As you rush to the hospital, you are scared and fearful. For most of us, our Imagination takes us to the worst outcome. Paralyzed. Disfigured. Brain damage. Death. This is normal, but if you can also Imagine the light alongside it. It's a fender bender. A few broken bones. It will be hard at first, but they will make a full recovery. The stronger the light side of your Imagination, the easier it is to nullify or even ignore fear.
If we can ignore fear, we will reach out further, we will try new things, things we've been putting off, go places, meet people -- live! We will live a fuller life, devoid of fear. Even the small fears we have, like what are people are thinking of me? Do I look good? Am I doing a good job at work? Will this old yogurt give me food poisoning? You will go and do without thinking about or being hindered by fear. You can be your beautiful self.
Imagine how much more you will do and get done if you don't have to ponder the fear and uncertainty of every choice and decision that you make. Sure, you should still be cautious, but there is a huge difference between fear and caution. Caution is being safe, taking into account things that may likely go wrong and taking measures to mitigate problems. Fear is mostly unfounded events. Like being murdered if you go for a walk at night. Fear makes you stay inside and watch TV instead of getting exercise, enjoying fresh air and talking with people you come across. See how much fear can negatively affect even a very small decision, small decisions that we make thousands of a day. You see how much fear plays into our everyday.
Imagine light. Imagine how much fun you will have. Imagine the experience you will have and the stories you can tell for the rest of your life. No one tells stories about watching TV.
Get out and live! Don't let fear cripple you. Think on why certain things make you scared and fearful. See if they are caution or rational fear. If they aren't, dismiss the fear and plunge ahead. Imagining the light will get you there. The only thing you want to blow out of proportion is how much fun you will have!