Imagine That…

For many years I was so busy raising my children and meeting the demands and pressure of my job that I didn’t take the time to look up and look around. I loved those years with my children and found joy in my mothering, and also in the challenges and demands of my teaching career, but I was unaware of many important things.

Almost before I realized it, I was retired and my sons were making their way in the world without me. But one morning I woke up and saw my world in new and exciting ways. As I looked out of my bedroom window, I could see the lawn, and across the lawn a couple of trees, but mostly what I noticed was the broad expanse of block wall. Now for years I had never even opened the blinds, let alone analyze the view, but on this particular morning I started to envision how lovely it would be to have pots of flowers along that wall, maybe even a shrub or two. As I stood there musing, a beautiful picture came into my mind of how that bedroom view could change.

Soon I found myself at the local nursery, buying pots, bedding plants and shrubs. I started to create what I had seen in my mind’s eye—in my imagination. It was great fun, so much so that the enthusiasm spread to other areas of the garden. Now I feel pure joy as I open my blinds and see my creation. I love nothing more than to stroll around and inspect my flowers, plants, and vegetables, the products of my imagination.

So why get so excited about a few plants and flowers? Well for me it was a great lesson. Before we can create anything in our lives we first have to imagine it. We have to decide exactly what it is we want, define it clearly (e.g I could see the exact colors and types of plants I wanted). Once we have our picture clear then we take the necessary action to make that happen, and we persist until our desire is realized.

So now when I open up my blinds in the morning I first of all express sincere gratitude for the sheer joy I get from the beautiful view, but then I remind myself of the power of my imagination to create the life I want.

And then I start to imagine some more…