When I was a wee lass, I didn't know what the world was all about. I had notions of grandeur about places and people I had never seen. I could make the world into whatever I wanted it to be. All I knew was what was in my little bubble of existence; my family, home and school and the sidewalks in between.
when I got older, I started to stretch my bubble a bit. I went on a grand adventure to California with my choir in high school. I saw different people and even six foot tall mice. I tried new foods and saw different cultures. As I saw or experienced each new thing, I would gather it up and bring it home to my bubble. I would shape and mold it until it fit inside with the rest of my world. If something didn't fit or make sense, I would leave it out and it would dry up after a while, leaving only an imprint of a memory, not often remembered.
I read a lot as a child and on into my adult years. Worlds of mystery, intrigue, imagination and even danger went in through my eyes and filled my mind with the wonders of the world and beyond. As with the real world, the things that I could fit into my bubble were kept, while the rest was just sifted through and mostly forgotten. Not to say that I don't remember any fantasy or sci-fi books from my youth, I do, but mostly I remember the parts that I can relate to the real world.
My late husband used to always accuse me of thinking only with my emotions and being completely lacking of any form of logic. Now that I look back I can't even imagine why or how he could say that. I am very much a real person. I live in the real world, I expect real and logical things to happen, and I tend to leave my emotions at the door most days. He was a math and science guy, so I wonder if he just saw the world in a different 'real' way.
I wonder what it would be like to be the opposite of what I am. What if I let everything dream, thought, idea, or random wisp of a theory shape and mold my life. What if I went through out my days thinking anything at all was possible. The sun might rise in the morning, but then again...maybe the sky would be filled with pudding at dawn. What kind of life do those kind of people have?
I think I met a few of those people this week at work. I had to administer and lengthy and somewhat less than fun test to twenty people. They each took the test alone, with only me giving them the questions. Most of the questions were doable, even for these people, but some were a real stretch. I remember one person in particular who seemed to be completely without a clue about what I was asking him.
I had read the person a short story about the weather in general. I stopped at a particular picture of kids flying kites and asked him, " what part of the story is happening in this picture?"
Well, you might think the logical answer would be, ' it is windy.' Apparently, this person was one of those that did not let logic rule their life. They were and 'out of the box' kind of person, free thinking and shaping their own world, by golly! The answer I got was "Dinosaur!"
Why not? I mean, sure there was nothing that looked anything like a dinosaur in the picture, but maybe they were seeing something completely out of my realm of consciousness. Maybe I had been brain washed to think people flying kites were actually in the wind. Maybe he could see more to it that that.
Then again, maybe he was in kindergarten and wanted more than anything to be done with the stupid test and home playing with his dinosaurs. I feel your pain buddy.....cause I said so.
Photo credit: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=images+of+pudding+in+the+sky&start=163&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=yvZ&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1920&bih=950&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=YhOpmvSpG04lbM:&imgrefurl=http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/tag/conservation/&imgurl=http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/files/2011/12/Scary-Monkey-Week-Eleven.jpg&w=390&h=296&ei=uPQ_UNLfHuOUiALriIHIBQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=316&sig=114757908013112425886&page=4&tbnh=137&tbnw=181&ndsp=63&ved=1t:429,r:74,s:163,i:40&tx=111&ty=72
I love those who can think out of the box. When I helped in kindergarten, way back when my kids attended, I was intrigued that some of the wee people would color the sky orange and the grass purple. It never occurred to me, even as a child, to color it any other way than how I saw it.
ReplyDeleteOne day, one kindergarten teacher got upset when the students weren't coloring a leaf the same way she did it. She held up her leaf. She said, "This is what your leaf is supposed to look like."
I looked at the students' leaves, which I had praised for being so unique, and saw the looks on their faces. . . pouty, confused. I felt sorry for that teacher that she could not let them use their own creativity.
I wonder whatever happened to her. She did not come back the next year. . .
Thanks for reminding me to use my imagination. It's so hard to do when in the business world and all is left-brained.
no one should tell anyone how to color or what to think on a creative level
ReplyDeleteThank you for this reminder. and I agree with the previous comments. Each person does have a unique perspective...sometimes it's hard to remember that. A teacher who feels the need to force students' creativity into a specific box shouldn't be teaching.
ReplyDelete