Cultivating Imagination

CEFR Level C1-C2

I’ve occasionally had conversations with people who say they like movies better than books because they can actually see what happens. These same people don’t like closed-door scenes because even though they understand what is implied, they say that without seeing it, they don’t know what happens. They say it makes it more real to actually see the action rather than having to imagine it from implication. ​

I know there are reasons why someone’s imagination might not develop or be accessible. When I worked as a public librarian, continuing education was full of ways that we might need to consciously adapt our programs to accommodate people with fewer resources than the middle class two-parent norm. One concept I remember is that extended trauma, such as poverty or lack of parental attention, has the potential to limit development in the part of the brain that imagines. From what I’ve gathered, this is one reason why a child with a challenging home life might shrug when asked what they want to be when they grow up. They can’t imagine growing up because all their brainpower is taken up with surviving now. (I couldn’t find an article that tidily supports my impressions, but if you want to do your own research, “poverty effects imagination” is one starting place.) We also learned about accommodating neurodiversity, including recognizing that some people might not be able to participate in imaginative thought the same way others can. Or at least, they may not be able to express what they are imagining the way we might expect. (Again, citation needed, so take these statements for what they are: my memory of what I was taught.)

Caveats aside, I wonder how cultivating imagination might help us in our religious life, which I believe should be integrated into all of our life. I don’t mean that in the obnoxious sense where we wear the Christianese t-shirt, leave tracks instead of tips, and view every moment as an opportunity to “witness.” I mean in the holistic sense where the awe we feel in nature can be understood as an experience of The Divine without us worrying that we’re creating an idol out of nature. I mean integration in the sense where we understand that paying our bills on time is a reflection of how we view ourselves in relation to others which is a reflection of our theology. 

When I think about people I know who want The Answer, I wonder how much comes from a lack of security that their imagination is acceptable. Were they told that daydreaming was problematic? Did they grow up hearing that “storybooks” were childish and only “fact books” were worth reading? Were off-the-wall solutions laughed at for not being practical or dismissed as immature? Were they ever told they were too old for [imaginative play]?

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On the other hand, when people have a robust, active imagination, are they more willing to accept nuance? Is change and uncertainty more comfortable when people can engage their imaginations effortlessly? 

I don’t have answers in this post, but if we take all these questions and apply it to religious convictions, could imagination be a partial antidote to black-and-white thinking? Could comfort with “what if” be a guard against looking for The One Answer to Rule Them All? Could facility in imaging yourself in a scene allow you to envision the happy possibilities in change? 

Then again, I suspect imagination is a key part of fear. We imagine the worst that can happen and that scares us, so we glom onto The Answer that promises to relieve our fear. With The Answer, we don’t have to think about what could be; we are free to ruminate on the same thoughts. That’s less work. My understanding is that human brains like the way with less work. 

But I wonder if this is a stunted imagination? If it is an imagination that was told to stop with the fantasy and focus on problem solving, as if they are separate things?

I wonder if giving our imaginations the freedom to envision whatever they come up with, and the ability to accept those thoughts without classifying them as childish or practical, creates a brain where imagining something previously unknown becomes the easier path.  I wonder if imagination helps us to be calmer. If we are less fearful, I wonder if we would be less violent. 

If we were able to imagine that there is enough for all, would we work to create that event? If we were able to imagine that anyone could be the kind of person we want to know, would we be appalled when some people are classed as an enemy before they have a chance to show who they are? Would we find it abhorrent to harm others under the pretense of protecting ourselves? 

Would our energies go into creation and restoration instead of destruction and dismissal? Is the human capacity for imagination a protective measure God gave humans and we’re circumventing a tool God gave us by putting limits on the ways it is acceptable for an adult to use their imagination?

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