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I recently came across a speech I presented two years ago at
an event in support of the “This I Believe” organization. A group of individuals from our
community were asked to write their beliefs and then share them with the
audience. It's a good thing to periodically review your beliefs and determine if those beliefs serve you
well. Here is what I still believe.
I
believe one of the greatest treasures within each human being is the gift to
create, and that our ability to do so is only limited by our imagination. I believe children innately possess the
quality of mind and soul that allows them to tap into their own creative
imaginations. They instinctively live in
their own reality—in the now—created by their imaginations. This is why they are so joyful, honest, and
determined. Often, somewhere between
childhood and adolescence, humans become disillusioned by the imprinting of
their circumstances, by other individuals, and even by entire societies of
people who have forgotten how to live with creative imagination.
Renowned
attorney and author in the mid 1950’s, Hugh Brown, quoted a Dr. Stockdale in
one of his writings: “When God made the
earth, he could have finished it, but He didn’t. Instead, he left it as raw material to tease
us and tantalize us and set us thinking and experimenting and risking and
adventuring, and therein we find the supreme interest in living. God gave us a world unfinished so that we
might share in the joys and satisfaction of creation. He left the electricity in the clouds. He left the rivers unbridged and the
mountains untrailed. He left the cities
unbuilt. He left the laboratories opened.
He left the diamonds uncut. He gave us a challenge of raw materials, not
the satisfaction of perfect, finished things.
He left the music unsung, the dramas unplanned. He left the poetry
undreamed in order that men and women might not become bored with life, but
engage in stimulating, exciting, creative activities to keep them thinking,
working, experimenting, and experiencing all the joys and durable satisfactions
of achievement. Work, thought,
creation—these give life its stimulus.” (Hugh B. Brown, “The Abundant
Life”, 1965, p.156-157)
In
November 2008, at a worldwide conference for women, former international
airline pilot, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, said this about the process of creative
imagination: “The desire to create is one
of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.
No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each
have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence
in order to create something of substance or beauty. Creation brings deep satisfaction and
fulfillment. We develop ourselves and
others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into
something of beauty. Creation means bringing
into existence something that did not exist before.”
As an author, I explore and create stories that
didn’t exist before. In my young adult
fantasy, “Stelladaur: Finding Tir Na Nog”
the main character makes personal connections between imagination and reality,
inviting the reader to do the same. Here
is a brief synopsis:
Reilly, a
teenager with extraordinary abilities, lives in an idyllic island town in the
Pacific Northwest. After his sixteenth
birthday, everything changes! Unforeseen events threaten his confidence, his
peace—even his life—and he needs answers.
His friend, Eilam, an old guru from another time and place (who most
people call crazy) guides him to find a magical heirloom—a Stelladaur. With this treasure, Reilly travels through
invisible portals to different dimensions where he learns how to help others
discover their own hidden powers. The Stelladaur
can give him what he wants most, but when a beautiful girl captures his
attention, he questions his deepest desires.
Meanwhile, Reilly believes that Travis Jackson, a wealthy, Novel
Prize-winning scientist, is trying to steal the secrets of the Stelladaur to
use in his ominous new invention. Driven
by an intense desire to make a difference, Reilly decides to expose the famous
Mr. Jackson, and his courage is put to the test. It takes an even greater courage for Reilly
to trust his heart when someone he loves vanishes.
The Stelladaur Series is about realizing your greatest desire by
understanding the universal connection between imagination and following
your own heart. In one scene, Reilly
goes through a vortex in the violet stream of a rainbow to a place called
Jolka. There he meets Fiala, who tells him that his desires must be
"educated with imagination." She
tells him "imagination gives great
power to envision and believe".
"Each colored vortex provides a specific
education for the attainment of one's greatest desire. One perspective,
and then another, and then another.”
A comfortable silence that reminded Reilly of quiet
moments with Eilam now settled upon him. They moved along for a while
without talking as he continued to digest what Fiala had told him. Still
trying to absorb the extraordinary experiences, Reilly was, nevertheless,
certain it was all very real. He broke the silence between them.
"Can a person have everything he or she wants,
or does it only happen if it is a greatest desire?"
"Every desire is for receiving and enjoying. One must only be in alignment with the law
that manifests the desire. Most beings from the place of habitation where
the One called Reilly resides do not allow such understanding.”
"Then what is the purpose of a greatest desire?"
"To reveal the endless potential within every
One."
Like Reilly, I believe imagination is an innate
gift. Any dream, goal, or desire we
imagine is a seed of endless possibilities. These seeds of creativity are
given to cultivate our greatest potential as human beings. This I believe.
(To explore more ideas that support imagination and creativity visit The Stelladaur Academy online.)
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