Imagination: a Multitool for Healing, Growth, & Change

Rows and floes of angel hair

And ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere

I've looked at clouds that way

-Joni Mitchell “Both Sides Now”

The world can be so serious.

Society tells us our pre-ordained path is to find a nice fellow or dame, settle down, and put our efforts into either providing for your family or raising kids and taking care of your household. Capitalism tells us that work is our #1 priority and leisure is a nice to have. Professionalism tells us what to wear and how to behave.

For women and marginalized communities its even worse. For example, Black women’s hair at work is more closely scrutinized than Ticketmaster’s monopoly.

It’s common knowledge (what does that mean anyways?) to talk about how people lose their imagination when they ascend into adulthood. Imagination, creativity, and play are for children. Work, taxes, and appointments are for adulthood.

That’s probably why artists are so frowned upon. They are perceived as “wasting” their time on frivolous things. The idea of a starving artist is simply because we do not place value on creativity unless the wealthy choose to put your art in their homes.

The Vitality of Creativity

But art and creativity are far from frivolous. They are vital for us to thrive in this world.

The ongoing struggles of our time are still here despite some glimmers of hope with last month’s Midterm elections. We are still faced with massive inequality, oppressive systems that harm marginalized folks, and the climate is still warming dramatically.

The deluge can be overwhelming and sink anyone into a pit of despair. When you’re only focused on the doom and gloom, you become stuck and it’s hard to see a positive path forward. Even those that ignore the news subconsciously are aware of the hardships or feel micro-oppression and typically languish through their daily lives.

Imagination is Power

As we wrap up the year, we’re going to focus on imagination and it’s many talents to help us survive and thrive as humans.

Imagination can bring us closer to our inner child that allows us to see the beauty in this world, but that’s only one of the ways it buoys us.

In December we will touch on Imagination and Storytelling as…

… a tool to advocate for the future that we can achieve together

… the solace to help us survive and thrive through the oppressive systems that makes our climb steeper

… a magnifying glass to expose the injustices and illogical systems that society uses to hold its strained seams together

… an opportunity to illuminate the systems that impact us all

… an infusion of joy into the long road of movement building

The Good Knurd 🤓

If you could bring anything back from your childhood, what would it be?

Do you want to learn a new instrument, climb trees, get back into doodling, or even swing on your local park’s swing set? Go do it!!! Don’t wait, don’t question, just do it.

The world is so serious.

Any chance we can get to bring light and joy into the world is an opportunity for us to heal that little inner child that often feels so lonely in adulthood.

As we enter December and approach the holidays, it is a time to remind ourselves to rest (we are animals after all. Animals need to hibernate). While this time can be hectic, it’s important to find space for free, unexplored time. Take your free time to explore your imagination.

To expand our imaginations, I will end with the scene from Coda where Emilia Jones sings ‘Both Sides Now’ in front of her deaf family. Joni Mitchell’s vivid imagery of clouds brings out my imaginative soul.

Next Up:

Imagination: A Tool for Advocacy

Picture this. You wake up with a sore throat. You get on a video call with your doctor who prescribes you medicine that you can pick up on your way to work. It costs nothing. You go to your job on the bus that picks you up at the end of your block. It’s on time and run by solar energy.

Roots of Change by Knurdology