Imagine if you were to take each of the minutes you lived in any given day and put them in one of two columns – one for those minutes where you were present in the reality of the moment and the others in a column for those moments where you were lost in your imagination – whether for good or ill. At the end of the day, which column would be longer?

And if you separated your “Imagination” column into 2 with joyful imaginings on one side and imaginings that induce fear or worry on the other, which of those would be longer?

I’ve wondered about this a lot as I’ve been exploring the theme of imagination.

On one hand, I adore my imagination. I love creative thought, I love getting lost in the imagination of story, I love imagining how some event in the future may unfold in the best possible way and I love looking at all the things that human imagination has created.

On the other hand I’ve also been reflecting on the dark side of imagination. Sometimes our imagination does us no favors. It likes to run wild with that sound in the middle of the night, imagine the worst possible outcome as we wait for those medical test results and bring up feelings of intense anxiety as we imagine what the future may hold at the hands of particular politicians.

And on the third hand (use your imagination) although I do love the world of imagination (mostly) I sometimes wonder how much of life in the here and now I miss when I spend excess time somewhere else in my head.

I don’t have any judgements about the answer to my question (for myself or you) only  a sincere invitation for you to take time this month, as I am,  to explore your own imagination: when does it serve you well and when does it need to be put in the time out corner? Are you ready to tap more deeply into your imagination to create something new in your life? Or is it time to give your imagination a rest and take time to enjoy the amazing life all around you.

Whatever you choose, may your imagination take you to all the best places at all the best times,

Rev. Deborah