Binoculars? Really? Yes. Imagination is a crazy thing, and if you have even a little of it, you will know what I mean. It almost has a mind of its own. But as to the three reasons of why your imagination is like a pair of binoculars, well…
1. Binoculars are used to get a different view on something usually far off
You know what I mean. You twists that little knobby thing to zoom in and voila, that bird that was just hundreds of feet away looks as if it is smack dab in your face. Now how is this like your imagination? Well, when those little wheels inside your head start turning, your imagination helps you see the world in a whole new way. That boring subway ride is transformed into a trip on a roller coaster into the depths of the earth. That couple sitting across from you are actually secret agents. The subway driver is an invisible man.
Stupid, you say?
That may be, but it is so much more fun than looking at life through those square glasses of the practical mind. You never get to see outside of the box that way. When you let it, your imagination is free to come up with the most amazing possibilities and ideas. And you know? The most amazing breakthroughs and inventions started with someone’s imagination.
People who imagined flight made the airplane People who were tired of lighting candles came up with a way to light a room with the flip of a switch. All of these dreams took imagination to start. The people of that time probably thought the inventors to be crazy at first. So, who knows, maybe a little crazy is a good thing.
2. Binoculars are not limited by space and time
Neither are our imaginations. They are free to wander, to dream up things that will come well into the future, long past when we are gone. They are free to think without the restraints of time. Our mind never grows tired, except maybe, right before exams… :p
3. Binoculars inspire you to pursue your discoveries
When a bird watcher spots a rare bird through his binoculars, he is intrigued and chases after it, trying to get a picture of the bird, or a video, or more info. Our imaginations do the same. When reason says that the cliff is impossible to climb our imagination says we will get there, so just do it. When reason says that there is no possible way you could ever be accepted into that friend group, your imagination says, just go for it! If we didn’t have our imagination, we would always think up a reason for why doing “blank” is impossible.
Where there is a will, there is a way… Just go for it!
Lara