This is why I understand it to be largely evolutionary. No imagination can make any jump too large. It's all about baby steps. We build off of each other's imaginings, thus eventually creating something incredible. Hence the inventions of today that were unimaginable 50, 100, or 1,000 years ago. Surely Pythagorus couldn't imagine the computer as it stands today. But I'm not interested in technological imagination. No, I leave that to my brother and the other scientists of the world.
I'm more interested in the artistic, or creative imagination. I often find myself writing about children. In some ways I believe it is my goal as a writer to recapture a child's imagination and present it in terms understandable to adults, so that we might relive it. I was blessed as a child to have a very active imagination. 90% of my free time was spent "playing pretend" with my brothers or friends. I think most of our conversations began with "Let's pretend..." It was a way of life. Anything is possible to a child's mind. And little is taboo. I remember one particular game I played with my best friend when we were young. It was called War, and it basically involved us packing up our dolls and moving to various locations within the house, setting up camp, and avoiding the soldiers, who would kidnap our babies if they knew we had them. I have no idea where we got the idea for this game, and to be honest, the alluring part of the game was probably all of the changing outfits--nothing to do with becoming socially aware of others' difficulties.
This same friend and I often played Barbies for hours on end, sometimes rarely talking to each other. We had seriously in depth and drawn-out scenarios we played out. The game went on in our heads, and we were in tune with one another enough to know what was going on. We didn't have to talk about it. And of course I would play with my other dolls in the same way, often alone, creating vast scenarios for them, carrying on conversations, etc. One of my favorite childhood TV shows was the Muppet Babies. Talk about imagination! And their imaginings actually came true. Even as a young child I longed for that experience. And so I lived vicariously through Kermit and Miss Piggy's fantastic adventures.
I would give anything to have that kind of imagination and mental focus again. Perhaps it has to do with the sheer number of things crammed into my brain these days. I could never devote three hours to one game of house. My mind would be in a million different directions. I'm not ever sure I would know how to start "playing pretend." I cannot make pretend become my reality anymore, and it's really a shame.
I'm not saying that I want to live in a world I've created for myself that has no baring on the real world, of course. I just would like to be able to escape every once in a while for extended periods of time, without getting drawn into the world of work, relationships, and responsibility. I would especially like to be able to do this when it comes to writing. To recapture that childhood innocence and complete withdrawal into a pretend world would be an incredible feat for me. In some ways I can capture this through reading. I can lose myself in another world. But it's not the same. There isn't the freedom of imagination there would be in writing. Reading offers the line of focus to follow--it's already there, laid out for me. But that's what it is. I have to follow that writer's line. In writing I can create my own line--ultimate imagination.
The truly great writers, I think, have found a way to do this: to immerse themselves into their story completely and utterly. To live it through the pen or keyboard. To make it interesting enough for others to want to follow and get lost in as well. I only hope that someday, however far off it may be, I'll accomplish this. And until then, I just have to keep trying.
*This post is dedicated to Kate. I didn't bother doing all the reading you did...I just made stuff up. So you can have the last word.
